Recruiting 2019

[VU2014]

Valpo 2019 SG recruit Alex Hemenway just received an offer from Clemson. He's one of the best shooters in his class and the best in the State of Indiana.

https://twitter.com/HemenwayAlex/status/911704795735617536
https://twitter.com/InTheGymHoops/status/912319804429750273

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/okonscoutnews/status/913588424082362369

Jerry Hernandez took an unofficial visit to Valpo last year if I remember correctly. He just received his first few D1 offers the last few weeks and one of them was from SIU yesterday.

https://www.hudl.com/video/3/7396336/58d3d41142102e192c255c6c

http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/jeremiah-hernandez
Status: Undecided
Year: 2019 (HS JR)
Position: SF
Height: 6-4
Weight: 170
Hometown: Arlington Heights, IL
High School: St. Viator High School
Current Offers: SIU, Cal Poly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwkBnvZ-zF4&t=1s

[vufan75]

Alex Hemenway lands Nebraska offer. The recruiting battle for him gets tougher.
Blessed and very thankful to receive an offer from Nebraska University !! [emoji836]️[emoji837] https://t.co/tX64zQx4jw

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

[VU2014]

Alex Hemenway lands Nebraska offer. The recruiting battle for him gets tougher.
Blessed and very thankful to receive an offer from Nebraska University !! [emoji836]️[emoji837] https://t.co/tX64zQx4jw
https://twitter.com/HemenwayAlex/status/919374867190943744

He has offers from: ACC, Big East, Big 10, MVC, HL, OVC schools now. Indiana is also involved in his recruitment.

I hope the coaches have built a strong player-coach relationship with him because there is stiff competition to land his commitment. His Junior year HS season hasn't even started yet. If I were the Coaching Staff I would send one coach to every single one of his high school games if it doesn't conflict with games/practice. Valpo is really going to need to prioritize him if we have a chance to land him.

He's a program changing player.


Side Note: Nebraska just picked a new Athletics Director so this current Basketball Coaching Staff might not be there after this next season... Nebraska's Head Coach was already on the hot seat and now it may get even hotter. They are arguably the worst team in the Big 10 and thats saying something because Rutgers isn't very good...
http://www.whio.com/sports/nebraska-picks-washington-state-head-athletics-program/9WNlKkDatjxqbC3Jor4xcN/

If Nebraska sees a coaching change maybe former Valpo recruit Nana Akenten may decide to transfer. Nana is a freshman SF with a really high ceiling. I'm going to be watching Nebraska this season.

[bbtds]

Quote from: vufan75 on October 15, 2017, 01:56:22 PM
Alex Hemenway lands Nebraska offer. The recruiting battle for him gets tougher.
Blessed and very thankful to receive an offer from Nebraska University !! ️ https://t.co/tX64zQx4jw

I wonder when that school tells their student athletes that the name of the school is University of Nebraska and not Nebraska University. Or is that like the school in Tulsa? Despite being the University of Tulsa most people in Tulsa refer to it as TU. Those Big Ten teams, University of Indiana and Illinois University, need to learn how to be flexible like Nebraska. Speaking of inflexible in the Big Ten, THE Ohio State University? Why not University of THE State of Ohio?

[VU2014]

Valparaiso High School basketball star Brandon Newman visited Butler. A few of their fans have scoffed at the idea and already deemed him a MAC or Horizon League level player.

I wonder how much interest the staff has in Brandon. He seems like a nice player. It would be cool to see Valpo land another VHS player.

https://twitter.com/davidwoods007/status/919972976879169537

[IrishDawg]

Valparaiso High School basketball star Brandon Newman visited Butler. A few of their fans have scoffed at the idea and already deemed him a MAC or Horizon League level player.

I wonder how much interest the staff has in Brandon. He seems like a nice player. It would be cool to see Valpo land another VHS player.

https://twitter.com/davidwoods007/status/919972976879169537

According to the twitter profiles on that reply, only one of the scoffers is a Butler fan, and one is a Butler student but cheers for UNC.  Fans on the Butler Board were actually complimentary of Brandon and think he could have some upside in the future.  Actually no scoffers on the board at all, which is saying something even though there was a limited response to it.   https://butlerhoops.com/forum/index.php?threads/recruiting-notes-3-0-the-lavall-era.1770/page-11

Still very early in his recruitment, who knows what'll happen, but he'll get plenty of looks since he plays for Spiece Indy Heat.

[VU2014]

Alex Hemenway just received another offer. This time from Xavier. I'm really setting my expectations lower on the potential of landing a commitment from Hemenway.
https://twitter.com/HemenwayAlex/status/921511573952323585

[VU2014]

Hemenway just received an offer from Butler.

[VU2014]

I wonder if Valpo will offer VHS product Brandon Newman. It would be great to have another Valparaiso High School kid on the team.

I've heard Brandon is pretty good player. I heard the Butler coaches were at VHS's open gym recently taking a look at Brandon. I also know the Valpo coaches are very familiar with Brandon.

https://twitter.com/nwi/status/929721702111727616

Newman's star rapidly rising for Valparaiso basketball team
By: Jim Peters jim.peters@nwi.com
Nov 11, 2017

The rapid ascent of Brandon Newman from a solid varsity player to a Division I recruit turned the heads of Region hoops followers this summer.

Barak Coolman, his coach at Valparaiso, wasn't surprised.

"We knew he had a tremendous amount of talent, how special he could be," Coolman said.

While Newman started for the Vikings as a sophomore, he was surrounded by a strong senior class and the young lion patiently waited his turn, knowing his time at the head of the herd was coming.

.......... (give it a click and read) http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/high-school/boys-basketball/newman-s-star-rapidly-rising-for-valparaiso-basketball-team/article_94c155fd-d1f7-5450-8c0e-b46485c555c2.html?utm_content=buffer7d6bd&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=LEEDCC

Year :2019 (HS JR)
Position: SG
Height: 6-3
Weight: 175
Hometown: Valparaiso, IN
High School: Valparaiso High School
Current Offers: North Dakota, IPFW, Toledo
Current Ranking: NA/2-star

Has anyone seen him play? Would like to hear what you think of his game?

https://www.hudl.com/video/3/6329578/59b7c199f569cf0a14fef38a
https://www.hudl.com/video/3/6329578/591242fd578d7d2c1086725a

[talksalot]

Maybe IF he went there... THEY would agree to play us in about 4 years...at our place.

[VU2014]

Maybe IF he went there... THEY would agree to play us in about 4 years...at our place.

Yep. That's what I was sort of hoping for the situation with Sasha Stefanovic at Purdue. Matt Painter scheduled the 2-for-1 with Valpo to give Robbie Hummel a homecoming game back in 2010-2011. But that was a whole different era of college basketball scheduling. We're now in the era of 'buy games'. Things have gotten out of control with the lack of home-&-homes from Power Conference teams. I think its absolutely killing the sports popularity between November and December. The P5/P6 hardly ever play true road games anymore.

As Brandon I have no clue how serious Butler is about recruiting him but I heard that LaVall Jordan was at the open gym taking a look.

Anyone know if Brandon is the rising star that NWI Times says he is? He sounds like he has the athleticism to be a good D1 guard.

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/high-school/boys-basketball/newman-s-star-rapidly-rising-for-valparaiso-basketball-team/article_94c155fd-d1f7-5450-8c0e-b46485c555c2.html?utm_content=buffer7d6bd&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=LEEDCC

"Given the opportunity to perform on the big stage, the 6-foot-4, 184-pound Newman didn't waste it. His blossoming skills caught the attention of colleges. IPFW, Toledo and North Dakota all made offers. Butler, Valparaiso, IUPUI, Miami (Ohio) and Northern Kentucky are all interested."

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/prepballstars/status/932426545364455424
State of Indiana Recruiting Ranking:
1. Keion Brooks Jr.
2. Trayce Jackson-Davis

3. Alex Hemenway (Valpo Recruit)
6'4″ Shooting Guard, Castle
Offers: Valparaiso, IUPUI, Evansville, Creighton, Clemson, Nebraska, Butler
Scouting Report: Hemenway is a player with a really high basketball IQ and skill.  His real forte is SHOOTING.  But he is also a better overall athlete than given credit for.  He will bang on you.  And he is versatile enough to dribble it and get to the rim/finish with either hand.  Definitely a player with good size to keep an eye on.

4. Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville. Same HS as Smits)
5. Cobie Barnes
6. John Michael Mulloy (Butler Commit)
7. Jared Hankins
8. Ethan Brittain-Watts
9. Jalen Windham
10. Dexter Shouse Jr.
12. Jalen Johnson
12. Manual Brown Jr.
13. Mason Gillis
14. Armaan Franklin
15. Aaron Etherington
16. Lucas Kroft

17. Brandon Newman (Valparaiso HS Star)
6'4″ Guard, Valparaiso
Offers: Toledo, IPFW, North Dakota
Interest: Butler, Valparaiso, IUPUI, Miami (Ohio) and Northern Kentucky
Scouting Report: Newman had a nice summer playing for Spiece Indy Heat and is an athletic, multidimensional player.  He has great length and is very active on the floor, especially on the defensive end.

18. Cameron Alford
19. Noah Smith
20. Jakobie Robinson
21. Sam Devault
22. Wendell DeMyers
23. Kycia Washington
24. James Franklin Jr.
25. Landon Sprigler

Honorable Mentions:
-Sydney Curry

-Colin Kenney (Valpo has reportedly shown interest/Marquette Catholic)
6'0″ Point Guard, Marquette Catholic
Scouting Report: I have watched Kenny a few times in the spring.  He really competes and can LIGHT IT UP from outside.  He also has a high basketball IQ.  He is crafty with his dribble with toughness and feel for the game.  Definitely a sleeper in the class.

-Corey Landers
-Jesse Bingham II
-Amari Sherrod
-Hayden Smithey
-Noah Applegate (Penn)
-Luke Bumbalough
-Brandon Vernon
-Cory Richards
-Isaiah Moore
-Wesley Jordan
-Justin Hensley
-Craig Young
-Simon Banks

Rising Stars:
-Isaiah Davis // 5'9″ point guard, greenwood
-Jack townsend // 5'11" Point Guard, bloomington north
-Simon Banks // 6'2″ Shooting Guard, Brebeuf
-Logan carter // 6'9″ center, evansville mater dei
-matt dove // 6'8″ forward, princeton
-willie jackson // 6'0″ point guard, fishers
-caleb redman // 6'2″ Shooting Guard, pike
-Terry Hicks // 6'5″ Wing, Fishers
-Rishard Balkom // 6'6″ Forward, Merrillville (Mileek McMillan's former teammate)

[valpo4life]

I wonder if Valpo will offer VHS product Brandon Newman. It would be great to have another Valparaiso High School kid on the team.

I've heard Brandon is pretty good player. I heard the Butler coaches were at VHS's open gym recently taking a look at Brandon. I also know the Valpo coaches are very familiar with Brandon.

https://twitter.com/nwi/status/929721702111727616

Newman's star rapidly rising for Valparaiso basketball team
By: Jim Peters jim.peters@nwi.com
Nov 11, 2017

The rapid ascent of Brandon Newman from a solid varsity player to a Division I recruit turned the heads of Region hoops followers this summer.

Barak Coolman, his coach at Valparaiso, wasn't surprised.

"We knew he had a tremendous amount of talent, how special he could be," Coolman said.

While Newman started for the Vikings as a sophomore, he was surrounded by a strong senior class and the young lion patiently waited his turn, knowing his time at the head of the herd was coming.

.......... (give it a click and read) http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/high-school/boys-basketball/newman-s-star-rapidly-rising-for-valparaiso-basketball-team/article_94c155fd-d1f7-5450-8c0e-b46485c555c2.html?utm_content=buffer7d6bd&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=LEEDCC

Year :2019 (HS JR)
Position: SG
Height: 6-3
Weight: 175
Hometown: Valparaiso, IN
High School: Valparaiso High School
Current Offers: North Dakota, IPFW, Toledo
Current Ranking: NA/2-star

Has anyone seen him play? Would like to hear what you think of his game?

https://www.hudl.com/video/3/6329578/59b7c199f569cf0a14fef38a
https://www.hudl.com/video/3/6329578/591242fd578d7d2c1086725a

One quote from the article made me question their coach. I know they had a great year last year going 21-4, but they had a super talented kid in Brandon that was told to back down and "defer to the seniors" because "the whole locker room could have been a headache". Makes you wonder what was going on there and what their season could have been like if Brandon would have been encouraged rather than seemingly held back.

[VU2014]

One quote from the article made me question their coach. I know they had a great year last year going 21-4, but they had a super talented kid in Brandon that was told to back down and "defer to the seniors" because "the whole locker room could have been a headache". Makes you wonder what was going on there and what their season could have been like if Brandon would have been encouraged rather than seemingly held back.

Yeah I didn't really understand that. The best players play. As long as Brandon wasn't disrespecting the Seniors and overstepping them in terms of a leadership role then I have no clue why he'd have to defer to them in the offense.

I could maybe see them wanting to feature Trace Ramsey more when College Coaches were in the stands but at the end of the day it's still about wins and losses and good sportsmanship.

Side Note: Former VHS player Trace Ramsey is with Don Bosco Prep now along with NWI prep star Nick Mantis. Ramsey recently received an offer from Loyola recently. Ramsey actually has quite a few offers now: Austin Peay, IUPUI, Loyola-Chicago, Toledo, Western Michigan, and a Non-D1 Christian Brothers. Trace Ramsey and Mantis are the type of guys you'd love to bring in as a Preferred Walk-On sort of the way we did with John Kiser but they're going to play on scholarship somewhere.

[valpo4life]

One quote from the article made me question their coach. I know they had a great year last year going 21-4, but they had a super talented kid in Brandon that was told to back down and "defer to the seniors" because "the whole locker room could have been a headache". Makes you wonder what was going on there and what their season could have been like if Brandon would have been encouraged rather than seemingly held back.

Yeah I didn't really understand that. The best players play. As long as Brandon wasn't disrespecting the Seniors and overstepping them in terms of a leadership role then I have no clue why he'd have to defer to them in the offense.

I could maybe see them wanting to feature Trace Ramsey more when College Coaches were in the stands but at the end of the day it's still about wins and losses and good sportsmanship.

Side Note: Former VHS player Trace Ramsey is with Don Bosco Prep now along with NWI prep star Nick Mantis. Ramsey recently received an offer from Loyola recently. Ramsey actually has quite a few offers now: Austin Peay, IUPUI, Loyola-Chicago, Toledo, Western Michigan, and a Non-D1 Christian Brothers. Trace Ramsey and Mantis are the type of guys you'd love to bring in as a Preferred Walk-On sort of the way we did with John Kiser but they're going to play on scholarship somewhere.

I'll pass on Ramsey. Not worth the headache.

[M]

Merrillville's Jonny Bernard went off last night. He's one of the best players/shooters in NWI.

[VU2014]

Merrillville's Jonny Bernard went off last night. He's one of the best players/shooters in NWI.

A nice article on Johnny from the other day.

https://twitter.com/PostTribSports/status/933197550672211969

Hutton: Merrillville's Johnny Bernard looking for another breakout season
Mike Hutton
Post-Tribune
Nov 17, 2017

News flash: Johnny Bernard will not be coming off the bench for Merrillville this year.

This has been confirmed via Merrillville coach T.J. Lux.

"Yes, Johnny will be starting for us this year, " Lux said, chuckling only slightly.

It's possible that Bernard might be the only player in history to be selected for the Indiana Junior All-Stars after playing primarily as a sixth man. Hard to nail that one down.

Yes, it turned out to be a strange — but ultimately breakout — season for Bernard, a 6-foot-3 senior guard.

Bernard got the state's attention when he scored 32 points against Fort Wayne North in the Pirates' 82-73 semistate loss to the Legends.

His state tournament run was one for the books.

Bernard, playing as the Pirates' sixth man, averaged 17.5 points while shooting 57 percent from 3-point range and 68 percent overall in the five tournament games.

............. http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/sports/ct-ptb-mike-hutton-column-st-1118-20171117-story.html

[M]

Coach Patton, who I believe is maybe the freshmen coach at Merrillville and also trains these guys on the side, tweeted something about his performance out. Liked by Coach Ragland.

[FieldGoodie05]

Is Bernard the "exceptional talent" that requires our last scholarship?  We are deep in the Guard position this year, but graduate (2) and only bring in (1) for 2028/19.

The way I read this article is that he is a senior this year.  If he made junior all-star last year....

So would this go into "2019 recruiting" thread?

[M]

You're right, should be in the 2018.

[VU2014]

It sounds like VHS star Brandon Newman got off to a very strong start.
https://twitter.com/RobBehrend/status/934633684577275905

[VU2014]

Was just surfing the Butler forum and saw this about Alex Hemenway:

https://scout.com/college/basketbal...s-recent-visits-and-numerous-offers-109882746

"Most recently Hemenway was offered by Butler, and he was impressed with what he saw on his unofficial visit to the school.

"I loved the visit it was great," said Hemenway of Butler. "We got a little tour of the campus and saw their first exhibition game. Also I got to meet with Coach (LaVall) Jordan and I like how he is all about business and be ready to come and take over Butler and make it his own program."

Also talked about how he liked his Xavier visit and was impressed by Coach Mack and Travis Steele, and enjoyed his visits to Purdue and Indiana, though those were more building relationships than about a formal offer and tours of the school. He's working on setting up visits to Ohio State and Creighton.
Irishdawg, Nov 6, 2017 #12"



I spoke to a local basketball coach on Sunday he told me that Hemingway was extremely excited about his Butler offer. He told me that before the butler offer he was a heavy Xavier lean
oldstyle1908, Nov 7, 2017


I'm not confident at all about us landing a commitment from Alex given some of the offer he's landed already but he'd be a hell of a fit for
Valpo he ever chose to play his college career here.

(why am i on a butler forum at 1? i have no clue myself )

[wh]

Was just surfing the Butler forum and saw this about Alex Hemenway:

https://scout.com/college/basketbal...s-recent-visits-and-numerous-offers-109882746

"Most recently Hemenway was offered by Butler, and he was impressed with what he saw on his unofficial visit to the school.

"I loved the visit it was great," said Hemenway of Butler. "We got a little tour of the campus and saw their first exhibition game. Also I got to meet with Coach (LaVall) Jordan and I like how he is all about business and be ready to come and take over Butler and make it his own program."

Also talked about how he liked his Xavier visit and was impressed by Coach Mack and Travis Steele, and enjoyed his visits to Purdue and Indiana, though those were more building relationships than about a formal offer and tours of the school. He's working on setting up visits to Ohio State and Creighton.
Irishdawg, Nov 6, 2017 #12"



I spoke to a local basketball coach on Sunday he told me that Hemingway was extremely excited about his Butler offer. He told me that before the butler offer he was a heavy Xavier lean
oldstyle1908, Nov 7, 2017


I'm not confident at all about us landing a commitment from Alex given some of the offer he's landed already but he'd be a hell of a fit for
Valpo he ever chose to play his college career here.

(why am i on a butler forum at 1? i have no clue myself )

There are offers, then there are offers. Take Creighton for example. According to Verbal Commits, they have offered 21 players from the class of 2019. That's 5-7 times what they need. That many offers can't be unconditional. Xavier has offered 15 players. Butler 7. Etc. Etc.

[VU2014]

There are offers, then there are offers. Take Creighton for example. According to Verbal Commits, they have offered 21 players from the class of 2019. That's 5-7 times what they need. That many offers can't be unconditional. Xavier has offered 15 players. Butler 7. Etc. Etc.

That is true. Rumor is Alec Peters initially through his recruiment process really wanted to go to Butler and Butler "offered" but they landed a commitment from a kid they liked more & then Butler moved on from Alec. Then that kid that committed to Butler decommitted and Butler came running back to Alec saying they wanted him, but Alec said "thanks but no thanks". He commits to Valpo and the rest is history.