With as much noise as Coach Young is making on the recruiting trail, we should treat CMYBall recruiting the same way we treat football recruiting. The last post is pushing 500 comments and was started in Mid-April so let's do another.
Discuss and share any Virginia Tech related recruiting topics from Almost-June 2019 [0] that don't warrant their own thread [1]. Please do some digging to share original content (e.g. embed the original tweet, not a link to another post/website with said tweet), add context / relevant information and respect the Community Guidelines.
[0] If someone would like to make this thread from month-to-month, let Joe know, he is apt to forget and pressed for time. Or simply copy the boilerplate and start a new thread.
[1] New commitments, decommitments, portal entries, etc... deserve their own thread. Please read the brief best-practice tips at the top of the recruiting forum.
[2] Beer > Zima
[3] Cheese is delicious
[4] A rough season of Hokie football > an excellent season of LOLUVA basketball
[5] Pie>>Cake
[6] There is no six
Comments
Emma Watson can't jump out of a pie, but she could jump out of a cake. Cake>Pie. I rest my case
Emma Watson's not jumping out of a cake for you any time soon so I'd say that's a bit of a moot point, wouldn't you?
We talk about a national title on this board all the time don't we?
Looks like we just picked up Branden Johnson from Alabama State
Great reference - can I give more than 1 leg?
Which one? Monty Python or Mr. Garvey?
May 29th is about to hit, the last day for players to pull out of the draft, so we'll probably see a lot of rumors floating around throughout college basketball this next week
Something something pulling out
Grad Transfer Targets
Grad transfer targets Kelvin Jones and Alonzo Walker from Idaho State.
I really like the idea of taking a pair of teammates that have already shown good chemistry playing together. And both of them post players?
Both would be on their third school. Both have sat out a year in transfer. Not sure of their eligibility status.
Walker has nice skills, surprised he hasn't contributed more in his career. He's only started one game in his career.
Jones is a solid big. Started 28 games last year.
Actually 4th school including JUCO. They were teammates at their JUCO too
Jones: UTEP (including 1 redshirt year) -> Odessa College -> Idaho State
Walker: Kent State (including 1 redshirt year) -> Odessa College -> Idaho State
Why are they moving around so much? I get VT > Idaho State but a bit of a red flag.
Presumably they didn't like their situations at their first schools, so they went to a JUCO to keep playing because they had already taken redshirts. Then they made their move back to D1 at Idaho State. That's all very normal. Then the Idaho State coach left and they probably saw the option to grad transfer to a bigger school.
4 star 2020 guy, 6'5'' guard.
Best case scenario (Aluma gets wavier, KBJ comes back), we actually look pretty good:
Starters: Cone, Bede, Nolley, Aluma, KBJ
Bench: Cattoor, Bongo, Wilkins, Horne, Johnson
Walk-Ons: Radford, Palmer
Acutally have some size up front, backcourt depth is sketchy. Lots of question marks (Can Bede play the point effectively enough to be the de facto backup point guard? Can we trust Cone and Nolley? Can Bongo, Wilkins and Horne take a leap forward? Will Johnson's game translate to the ACC? Is Cattoor good enough right now to be a rotation player?) but if everything breaks the right way, matching what Buzz did in his second season is not out of the question.
Why does Bede necessarily have to play point? He played off ball a lot in a support roll last year. The guy could really have a great shooting year this year. Defense is built in already.
What's the alternative then if Bede doesn't play behind Cone? You either looking at Bongo or Cattoor.
I'm not saying he should play behind anyone. He should play 2 while Cone plays the 1.
EDIT: I'm only saying this because neither know CMY's system and both are starting fresh.
Let me reframe my point (sorry if I was confusing before):
The way I'm looking at it, Cone is going to start at point guard. Let's say hypothetically he averages 30 minutes a game. We need someone to play the other 10 minutes when he's sitting on the bench. I was trying to say that Bede should slide over to point during those 10 minutes and play Wilkins, Bongo etc. as the shooting guard. Hence Bede would be our "de facto" backup PG for 10 minutes while playing 20+ minutes off ball.
Makes much more sense, thanks. I do agree with that.
Bede also played a ton of PG last season... he was Robinson's backup, and then played a ton of PG when Robinson was injured. Yes, NAW picked some of the ball handling / offense initiation duties, but as the last month of the season wore on, Bede really stepped up into the PG role.
That being said, I could see Bede and Cone playing alongside each other quite a bit. Both are quite capable of creating offense with the drive-and-dish and having two point-capable guards on the floor means it's much easier to break a press and attack in transition. I do think they both need to prove they're a threat to finish at the rim in traffic and hit open 3's though.
Based on this, I see us being 7-deep at the start of the season with the ability to develop 1-2 more before ACC/postseason play.
This would be as deep as we have ever been.
At this moment, I'd rather see Wilkins in the starting 5. I just don't expect a kid that should still be in high school being ready for big time college basketball, especially at his size.
Starters/Depth
C KBJ/Johnson
PF Aluma/Horne
SF Nolley/Kabongo
SG Wilkins/Cattoor, Radford, Palmer
PG Bede/Cone
That's probably fair but Bede at PG last year didn't inspire a lot of confidence. Would love to see CMY bring in a legit PG transfer so Bede could play off ball.
I agree, and add in Ojiako and/or Bilau as an extra big and allow Horne to play some SF
dilly dilly on calling him "Bongo"
Oh man I don't know if you heard it but whatever game Kabongo hit his first 3 Burnop was so BINGO BANGO BONGO excited for him.
It'd probably look more like:
Starters: Bede, Wilkins, Nolley, Horne, KBJ
Backups: Cone, Bongo, Cattoor, Johnson
Sitting: Aluma
If KBJ leaves then put Johnson as a starter. I don't see Cone coming in and being starting point guard. I think we'll get the Bede Bongo 1-2 before we get Cone Bede.
Does anyone know who else we're looking at? Seems like we need at least another wing and another big. Also if we could snag Nathan Hoover that'd be crazy but I haven't heard any more rumors about that
I would guarantee Cone is a starter in year 1. Barring something out of his control (injury) he easily plays 30 minutes per game. He was recruited as a day 1 guy to play big minutes
I don't know why but Bede Bongo sounds like the title of the next Little Big hit song
I guarantee Cone will be the starter unless we get a big time PG transfer, Cattoor is light years better than advertised or Bede makes a quantum leap this summer. He was sold on coming to VT because CMY and staff were willing to give him the keys to the offense.
Agree...barring an injury, he is the starter.
Free side of 247 speculating Blackshear likely to withdraw from the draft, but not expecting a final decision on where he plays next year to come today.
This will be interesting to play out. I was certain he was gone initially. It just wouldn't make sense for him to come back into chaos....but now the CMY seems to have much less attrition than expected and filled in the roster pretty well for year one I could see Blackshear coming in and playing an important role. Still runs the risk that the pieces don't fit together but you run that just about anywhere you end up.
People won't agree, but with Blackshear we are a Top 25 team
I agree that we have the talent of a top 25 with Blackshear. How that translates to the floor with a first year HC is a massive question mark.
99% of people will read this and keep going. Will you be the 1% brave enough to give it a leg?
Dilly, Dilly.
Not sure if I really agree, but I like it anyway.
I agree with that. We are towards the 20-25 range if healthy with KBJ.
I gotta disagree with you on this one. We will have graduated 4/5 of last season's minute eaters when everyone was healthy. KBJ is awesome and Bede matured a ton when 5 was hurt but he was serviceable not dominant. He'll keep getting better but he has not taken over a game like NAW or 5 could. After that it is all freshman-- who make freshman mistakes-- and guys who had limited time like Horne and Chico.
If KBJ returns, we are middle of the pack ACC with a threat to upset teams in game when the freshman play to their potential. BTW, mid-pack ACC would be awesome. I was expecting a roaring dumpster fire when Buzz split and took all of the recruits. Coach Young and his staff have done an amazing job keeping the team intact and bringing in some great recruits, but top 25 seems like a stretch. As in, we'd better start the funding on the CMY statue if he could get the Hokies back in the top 25 in year 1.
There's no way he gets drafted. I thought that going in (no disrespect to him, its just really hard to make it to the NBA) and after seeing he didn't get any combine invites (even the G-League Elite invite), I feel 99% he won't get drafted. But its still a matter of if he'll go pro elsewhere or come back to college. He could make money overseas and I'd bet he could still go the G-League and try to make it to the NBA years later similar to how Jarrell Eddie did. It's far less money than going pro overseas, but its still an option.
Then why not stay another year?
Those other options will still be there next year.
Time value of money, injury risk, earlier exposure, personal life. Unlimited reasons. He's got his degree really wouldn't surprise me too much if he went this route either.
He might believe staying another year at VT or transferring to Kentucky/Florida wont help his draft stock. If he really wants to get with a D league team and work his way up to the NBA, might as well do it now and not waste a year.
From the sounds of his instagram post, he is not planning to go pro elsewhere
There seems to be a lot of speculation that UF is gunning hard for Blackshear. Anyone know where that's coming from?
The fact that he's from FL
From his perspective, if KJ came back he'd be our best player by far. What a better way to put up numbers and get noticed? If he transferred to "basketball school" like Kentucky, who knows? I've got to think that we aren't that bad of an option.
Little over 6 hours till we know for sure on KBJ entering the draft. So that will at least be one obstacle cleared...
Nick Richards and Montgomery returning to UK. I assume that would only help raise VT's stock of KBJ decides to come back to college. Obviously there are other choices out there as well. I think a year of being "the man" could really help (or hurt) cement himself into getting drafted and not have to worry about the UDFA route. Also, getting drafted would most likely give him a better shot at a G-league spot as a fall back.
Blackshear is withdrawing from the draft.
Kentucky also looks less likely right now. Our odds of him staying are getting better.
Posted minutes after KB's announcement
i have no idea what that means
I dont know for sure what that means either...guess I should upvote it...26 others did.
So Rasir Bolton just transferred from Penn State to Iowa State. Bolton was a high three star prospect in 2017, played well at PSU (11.6 ppg) and was looking to transfer to a better program. Did well enough academically that PSU gave him an academic achievement award. Oh, he's also from Petersburg and is applying to be eligible to play immediately.
Link Here
I'm a little shocked that CMY didn't go after him. Either 1) Cone/Bede backcourt is scarring off high level transfer prospects which isn't ideal (as many others have brought up, Cone would be theoretically better on the bench because he's an undersized player who should be a high school senior) 2) CMY didn't think he can get the waiver or 3) CMY just massively missed on a guy who's a really good fit.
How do you know Young didn't recruit him?
Not recruiting, but wasn't sure where to put this....so here
I kept pausing it to see if I could see Kerry's face blurred out :( Still super hyped though. I think we will be a fun team to watch that will win some that we don't expect.
hard to tell in the little snippets, but it looks like Wilkins has trimmed down a bit
Lol my wife knew our starting lineup pretty well last year but she always referred to Wilkins as "the chubby one."
and that was after he had trimmed down
As the roster stands today, I could see Wilkins and Cattoor swapping time on the wing. Neither is quick enough to handle some of the 2's in the ACC but they aren't skinny and both are pretty good rebounders. Wilkins has a nice shot and Cattoor's range is outstanding.
Posted this before, but my wife calls him "Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy". We love him here.
Will pull the particulars later.
He looks like he's 13 years old so I assume he's not a 2019 recruit.
It says 2020 so I assume he's a 2020 recruit.
EDIT^
Thought he looks like the little bro of Cameron Johnson (Pitt- UNC) and yup, he is.
Top 100 kid it looks like.
Every time I see the CMY prefex on a thread, I think it's going to be about color/graphic design.
CMYK color model
Looks like a CB to VT for John Ojiako?
Yes please. I'd like this very much
He's narrowed it down to us, UGA, and LSU
If my math is correct, 100%-100%=0%. Good guys win!
Am I doin this right?
Nope, you did it wrong. We need another 700% to seal the deal.
I should have put the /s on the post. Tongue was firmly planted in cheek.
6-10" 190lbs?!? How is that possible
But if he's a baller, I don't care
See all the bigs on UVA the last three years as freshmen. Six to eight inch growth spurt between Junior and Senior year of high school stretches a kid out fast. Hard to pack weight on when your body is moving at that rate.
Guessing you don't remember Roy Brow from the mid 80s Hokie teams-was 6' 11" and about 210 as a college senior. Pretty sure he started out at 185-190. Man could block shots though-still has the VT record at 251 I think.
Roy was a stick, alright, and couldn't hit a bucket if he had too, but dude could flat out block. From the Virgin Islands, he was a really popular player down there and in the Cassell. I seem to remember some sort of block count going on during games, maybe along a rail or something. Good while back, but he was a lot of fun to watch.
actual CMYball...links for nerds like me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRzS_2dCGCk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqpK8E8-e3w
KBJ would be damn near unguardable in those DHO/horns sets.
would be difficult to find a better O to showcase his skillset
2020 Niels Lane visiting. 6-5 combo guard. Recuiting looks to be ramping quickly. Biggest offer besides VT is Cal. 247 #2 in NJ, national #67
Ranking
Niels Lane Visit
Should be pretty easy to get some rings if Neil Lane comes to Virginia Tech.
We should tell him we'll name a stadium after him.
Are the in-state rankings based on where the croot plays or lives? Odd that they'd list him #2 in NJ if he attends a private school in PA
Jaden Seymour; 6-7 185; #6 in NC; #136 National. Brother of Adonis Alexander
2020 Jaden Seymour
Lok Wur; 6-9 combo forward; looks like late qualifier maybe with recent decommit from JC, now 2019. Offers rolling in. Decision in a couple weeks. Has good handle, great feet; range past 3
Lok Wur Stockrisers Article
247 Profile
Buzz is at it again
Uh, what's that now?
Not 100% sure that would be a good thing for us...?
Why not? the school/team didn't really handle anything poorly with Adonis. He's a talented player, had a year or a semester of poor grades, couldn't get himself back out of it, and went pro. Far cry from Trevon Hill's sour grapes.
Wasn't AA very complimentary of VT after he was dismissed, even admitting it was his own fault for not taking advantage of the opportunities to get his grades back to where he could remain eligible?
Alleyne is leaning toward reclassifying for 2019, but has NY family ties. Visit could go a long way toward luring him away from Hofstra.
Sorry if this is shallow, but if we're luring him from Hofstra, is he really ACC caliber? I know we're short on bodies, but I'd rather not sink a 4 year scholarship
He also has offers from Nebraska, St. John's, VCU, and USF.
If we offered him, then by definition, he's ACC caliber.
We shouldn't be worried about running out of scholarships. We have like 7 players right now.
Ironic when you think about how many VT fans have never recovered from failing to "lure" Steph Curry from Davidson.
It's not that we couldn't lure him from them. We offered a half or partial scholarship, they offered a full ride. All about Greenberg.
*Sigh*
The two players that got scholarships in 2006 were Nigel Munson and Lewis Witcher. Munson was a four star PG (Per 247) and Witcher was a four star PF (Per Rivals). Curry was a middling three star prospect that wasn't even in the top 250 (Per 247). Curry's other offers were from Bill and Mary, VCU and High Point. Everyone missed on him. You can't blame Greenburg specifically for a mistake that every ACC coach made.
The same people who complain that "We DoN't GeT FiVe StaRs" are some of the same people who are mad that GBurg didn't give Curry a full ride (not saying you specifically hokie4life).
Also I don't know the socioeconomic status of Munson/Witcher's family, but my guess is that Curry's family didn't value the monetary aspect of the scholarship as much as the Munsons or the Witchers (meaning that Curry was the most likely to take a walk-on spot out of the three because 30k/year for a presumed multimillionaire isn't a dealbreaker).
I'll save this comment so I can copy and paste it in six months when someone else brings this up.
Sign me up for Dell Currys kid over Nigel Munson and Lewis Witcher. I'll save that comment so i can copy and paste it in six months. I believe every Tech fan deserves one irrational and unchangeable thought about Tech athletics and this one is mine.
Also for everyone who says "Seth did offer him a scholarship, he just had to walkon the first year" don't realize that's literally an oxymoron. He essentially said come play without a scholarship your freshman year and we'll probably put you on one next year. Greenberg would have had zero obligation to do that though so if he just didn't want to put him on scholarship after his redshirt year, he didn't have to. So no, he didn't offer Steph a scholarship and for him to repeatedly act like it did and its just everyone else doesn't understand the process pisses me off. Sidenote, if you got to watch Steph vs. The Game on Facebook, apparently it was Sonya who was really not happy with the whole process and was a big driving force behind Davidson.
So you're saying you'd rather have the child of a Hokie legend over legitimately good prospects? It's going to be hilarious to watch you argue for Fuente to give Jada Vick a scholarship in five years.
I'm sorry, but it's irrational to blame Greenburg. Steph Curry is one of the biggest exception to the rule in the history of college basketball recruiting. It's like blaming Steve Mariucci for taking Giovanni Carmazzi over Tom Brady.
I'd consider the 254th ranked basketball recruit in the country a "legitimately good prospect". Also I literally followed that sentence up with "I believe every Tech fan deserves one irrational and unchangeable thought about Tech athletics and this one is mine."
P.S. glad to see you think Fuente will be around in 5 years and yes i pray to God if Vick's kid is a 3 star recruit, we find a way to get him on the team.
*takes bait*
I think a guy with a .625 winning percentage, ACC COY, a division title, three wins againist UVa and three bowl games in three seasons has a pretty good chance to stick around in five years.
Oh i agree. That comment was not bait.
Care to make a constraint on which Vick's kid?
Dwight Vick
Leg purely for this comment.
My irrational/unchangable thought about VT athletics is that if Kyle Fuller stays healthy in 2013, that team finishes the regular season 11-1, possibly 12-2 for the season, the most wins VT has ever had in a single season.
Mine is that the Hokie Bird is a girl
was a girl when I was there
It was a a few guys and a couple girls when I was there.
I've got a couple: We win the natty in 2011 if Tyrod was redshirted in 07. Same in 2010 if we beat Boise. Also we beat Bama in 13 if someone tackles Christian Jones on those returns and Coles doesn't quit on the route leading to the Sunseri pick 6.
Mine is Beamer pulls Vick's redshirt in '98 and we win the National Championship beating a decent UT team.
Don't see how anyone would feel confident we could win the natty in 2010 after watching us get obliterated by Stanford in the Orange Bowl. Also short week after an emotional loss blah blah... we lost to JMU at home.
We beat OSU in 2015 if Brewer doesn't break his collarbone.
Whew that's a steamy take. Would he have tackled Braxton Miller on that play?
I still have nightmares about that spin move.
4 years later and it still pops up on my twitter or facebook once or twice a month.
My point was simply to contradict that we tried to lure him away from somewhere. Greenburg was our coach and he made the call (not throwing him under the bus or saying a different coach would have been Nostradamus I actually liked Greenburg). If we were trying to lure him, we would have started with a full scholarship offer.
A preferred walk on spot is still a lure. Sam Rogers took it over lower level offers and other football players have as well. The Curry family could afford to pay for a year at VT so they must have believed Davidson was a better long term option. Anyway my point was that it's not guaranteed for VT to win out over perceived lower level schools.
Exactly. No one knew that Steph would be that good. Steph didn't know. Legacies aren't always the best pick.
Curious, which early commit would you have yanked the scholarship from to give to Curry his freshman year (without the benefit of hindsight)?
For accuracy sake, I believe Curry was offered a full scholarship with plans to redshirt his freshman year (would have played about 0 minutes anyways behind Dowdell and Gordon.
In hindsight, obviously either one. Without it, probably Munson given Witcher was a bigger need at the time. If Curry actually came, he would have walk-on'ed in 2006 and put on scholarship in 2007. We probably wouldn't have gotten Hank Thorns in '07. Starters in '07 would have been: Malcolm Delaney, Stephan Curry, A.D. Vassallo, Deron Washington & Jeff Allen (or Cheick Diakite). That team would have been fun AF to watch.
K, so, you're Greenberg. You've already offered a scholarship and gotten a commitment from Munson, a 4 star, top 100 player in the country, 21st ranked PG...you're going to withdraw your offer (terrible look to a kid that's already committed to you), and give it to Curry, a 3 star prospect, ranked 256 and 52nd PG , based on...his last name?
Agreed.
Curry truthers need to move on.
Not what happened.
I think he was offered a Preferred Walk On deal, meaning his meals and housing is covered, but his education would not be.
Unless preferred walkon in basketball is different from football, then no his meals and housing would not have been covered. Preferred walkon for football strictly means you can show up at the beginning of camp in august, while the rest of the walkons have to wait until school begins
I believe you get all of the gear, maybe its only team meals, but you do get similar benefits as the scholarship player (tutors and weight room/nutritionist) without the scholarship. Housing may only mean a room during camp and you are on your dime for the school year.
Only your freshman year during camp is the housing provided for a preferred walk-on and you do get meals during camp. Other than that, it's the exact same thing as a traditional walk-on. All players get the gear, tutors, weight room, and staff access.
Round 10. Let's go!
this made me legitimately laugh, have a leg!
Well shit! I logged on and noticed 25 new comments and thought there was some hot recruiting news. Read the comments and it's on Curry. You guys know how to put me on an emotional roller coaster!
'bout to go post about Curry all over the KBJ transfer thread
YAY offseason. Just kidding this is par for the course.
See you there!
And I know it's in the Basketball forum, but it is really confusing having recruiting info spread amongst multiple forums.
Welcome to the big time
I'm the other way I prefer it broken up. That way when someone says "John Doe" was on a visit I know which team they are looking at.
So what do we look like in the paint next season. Is Horne the only "big" man on the roster at the moment?
Branden Johnson...grad xfer
Younger brother of Trey McGowens who chose Pitt over VT and others in 2018.
*watches video*
aTm: ok. Boo but makes sense.
Creighton: Yeah, basketball school. Makes sense
VT: Nice.
Hawaii: What the fuck...just wanted a free vacation disguised as a recruiting trip?
extend it into four free years of vacation and it doesn't sound too bad. tbh, I'm surprised more recruits don't go there.
With a name like his, Hawaii may be the closest school to home.
I fail to see why surmising that a person with a name common to another continent choosing a school that may cut 10 hrs off a flight to that continent is deserving of DVs. Hawaii is an unusual choice for basketball. Some sensitive people jumping to conclusions.
If you're surmising that he's from Africa, the east coast of Africa is almost equidistant to Blacksburg as it is to Hawaii. The west cost of Africa is far closer to Blacksburg.
I'm surmising that geography is not his forte
That I am, Sudan or adjacent country specifically, I don't fly out of the country all that much and wasn't sure if it would be faster to fly from Hawaii to Australia then to Africa or East coast US to likely some European airport then down to Africa.
It is not uncommon for a talented player from a war torn region of Africa to get an opportunity to come to the US, attend a prep school at the hope of getting a scholarship, but having to leave their family behind in their native country. So choosing a school that knocks off a few hours from that flight home over a traditional basketball doesn't seem like an irrational decision.
I'm going to need you to take your fancy talk elsewhere.
Or, with a name like that, maybe he's from Omaha, because that's kinda just how our country is 🤷 and your name or my name doesn't tell anyone anything about where we call home
Isn't that literally the reason most last names exist? To denote your lineage or region you are descended from?
Yeah, makes total sense that Mike Krzyzewski coaches at Duke and not UCLA because Duke is closer to his hometown in Poland -- oh actually he's from Chicago. Totally confusing that Noah Kim would commit to VT when Hawaii is so much closer to his hometown in South Korea, right? Or is his hometown Chantilly? Can't remember. Can't believe Jim Weaver had the audacity to become an athletic director and not a maker of textiles in England! Of course I should surmise that, with his last name, Ed Wang was so brave in coming all the way from China to attend college in the US, because it is not uncommon for Chinese students to come to the US to study, right? Wait, he was born in Fairfax?
You're arguing a point I'm not making about last names indicating our ancestral origin/ethnic heritage rather than what I said about last names indicating "where we call home".
That's not what I'm saying . Obviously anybody of any background can go anywhere and do anything to try and predict their actions based on that isn't going to get you anywhere, it just seemed weird that we went so far as to say you can't tell where somewhere is from based on their name
well then, what was your point? it seems 100% irrelevant in context
You're still arguing a point I'm not making about last names indicating our ancestral origin/ethnic heritage rather than what I said about last names indicating "where we call home"?
Ok sorry for misunderstanding then
He's a very intriguing prospect, but I doubt he comes to VT. I saw that he has visits coming up for Oregon and Hawaii and he intends to commit within the next 2-3 weeks so I gotta imagine it's one of those 2 schools based on that, which could change of course. Besides, we only have a maximum of one scholarship (if KJ leaves).
John Ojiako Committed to the Hokies!
enrolling 2019
6-10 PF/C
CMY living up to his name and recruiting a bunch of young freshmen (Cone, Alleyne, Ojiako all reclassing from 2020 to 2019)
This just in, Lök Wur is built to play basketball, shades of Giannis and Pascal Siakam:
Big time athlete, solid handle with ideal height/wingspan for the next level for a forward...zero fucks given about attacking the basket and absorbing contact, high motor (at least based on these clips)...painfully thin and shot release is obnoxiously slow. His nickname could be tartare because he's raw AF. There were a couple of drives where he looked a bit reckless in his approach. Would really benefit from a redshirt year to get Hilgarted but we don't have that luxury. Type of guy who may not be an immediate starter but could be a lottery pick in three years (think De'Andre Hunter). We could play him at the 4 or 5 as a freshman in a "Deron Washington" role with the hope that he rounds out his game to become a NBA-caliber small forward.
Right now, he looks like a high school version of Tyrus Thomas (meant as both a compliment and insult, Thomas could have been a superstar in the NBA...work ethic is going to be critical for Wur as he has high bust potential)
Story with him is that he was a non-qualifier academically (hence the big recruiting sites not reporting) but literally qualified out of nowhere. Received 34 offers with interest from dozens of other programs within days of becoming qualified. I'm not a hoops wizard but based on his tape, he's easily a mid 4-star prospect. He would be a slam dunk (pun intended) commit for CMY, arguably more impressive than Cone.
It speaks volumes to the staff's work ethic that we're in the top 5. Wur is from Omaha, Nebraska, not listed on any recruiting sites and I don't think he was in the AAU circuit. A non-blue blood, east coast school shouldn't be in his Top 5.
I don't know the competition he's playing here, but the the way he rebounds and sprints off with the ball to the opposing teams basket looks like Chris Clarke, except he actually keeps control of the ball....
He is definitely raw, but tons of athleticism for a guy that size
Yea, he dribbles it like 4 times the length of the court, beats everyone down the court and slams it home. His stride on fast break is insane.
Some good shots in the video as well. I wonder what is shooting % is when not including dunks.
My thoughts exactly. With his abilities, some polishing from a good coach could make him absolutely awesome
Agreed--Chris Clarke with a higher ceiling.
I've heard more than enough about Chris Clarke's apartment, I don't need to know how tall his room is.
Me watching the kids he's dunking on:
and Buzz/aTm are in his top 5?
*gasp*
an OKG over 6'5", very rare in the wild
what a speciman
Buzz who???
Brent Snake
Is that the bald headed carrion picking Buzzard I've heard tell about?
More of an angler fish. Lures you in with fake niceness and preachiness, but he's actually kind of a dick
Pulllease, now. You slander most anglers with that slur. Yet, I'll also have to agree that he's a little dick, phrasing intended.
busted out laughing...I'm going to have to use this
If CMY gets this guy to Tech, call me a believer. This is elite level athleticism. I don't care who the competition is. He has a good stroke just needs some reps. He has NBA written all over him if he continues to work hard at his game
Why were Lök's highlights filmed with a 1996 camera?
Cause that's what they got in east Afri....you know what...never mind
Wur is taking his official to Oregon right now
Crystal balls are shifting towards the Ducks. Wur is a guy that I really, really want. I think Cone was our most important recruit this cycle but Wur would have the highest ceiling. He's a starter come tournament time next season and could be a lottery pick after his sophomore/junior year.
He just posted on Twitter that he has committed to Oregon
Well...fuck.
Just to add to CMY's lore, he was one of the only coaches to offer Ja Morant a scholarship:
There's "lore?"
Gonna need to see "more"
That's cool to hear that he identified Ja on the trail, but it makes me wonder:
If Ja had landed at Wofford instead of Murray State (and his rise/Wofford's finish in the tourney this year remain constant), would people view the MY hire as more or less impressive?
I feel like it would've made it look like the team was carried by a generational talent and that coaching was less integral to such a small school competing on the largest stage.
Don't have time to do a new summer recruiting post, BUT did notice we got a CB for 2020 guard Myles Tate. Also interesting the CB came from a USCe insider. They're considered the "other" team in his recruitment rn.
Yeah, someone fill me in about this kid. Is he going to reclassify to 2019 like a lot of our other recent 2020 commits? What do we know about him?
excellent PG prospect for 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HupPekKHMag
HS teammate with PJ Hall, top 50-ish PF whose dad played for Young. We are in Hall's final 5 and Tate is closely attached.
Hall and Henry Coleman seem to be our two most important recruits.
Myles Tate
Top 7 for Myles Tate. Hokies didn't make the cut
Wow. Have to say I've heard he isn't a take with Bamisile on board, but still thought we'd make top 7 and be in it if things change
Tough to beat God in a recruiting battle, right?
I truly don't think he would have fit with Young's system. They guys we have and the ones coming in are better suited for it. He's probably not all that great anyways.
/s
So what's up with his recruitment? A 4-star player with 4 of his Top 7 consisting of mid-majors? Did he not have seven P5 offers? Of his three P5 offers, only Pitt has any sort of basketball pedigree.
Tyler Nickel plays for East Rockingham High School which is a Class 2 school in Va.
Got a CB for him today, and made PJ Halls too 5
If we could somehow convince both Tate, PJ Hall, and Maddox to be Hokies, I would be ecstatic about the future of the program. Add in Shakeel Moore or Jaden Seymour if we have room and well on our way back to a NCAA tourney quality roster.
We only have two scholarships available for 2020 but I mean #TheNumbersAlwaysWorkOut
I'd be ecstatic if Tate and Hall are the only two guys in our 2020 class.
I see three available assuming Radford/Palmer are year to year.
Bede, Kabongo, Wilkins, Horne, Nolley
Cattoor, Cone, Allenye, Ojiako, Aluma
Johnson graduates this year I believe.
Built like an OKG
I was hoping to never hear that again.
Why? That was one of my favorite things about the Buzz era. That mentality got us hard workers with unlimited energy like Med and underrated guys like Chico. That was literally our identity for 5 years. Coach Young era recruits like Jalen Cone and Nahiem Alleyne seem like OKGs too.
But doesn't every coach want hard working players who are vested in the performance of the team over individual accolades?
Buzz who?
Brent who?
You know, that bald headed, carrion pickin' self dealin' dude. Used to hang around Blacksburg...back in the day.
PJ Hall Top 5
Love the way he talks about CMY and Frazier. Looks like it will be a stiff competition, but Coach Young has put us in contention.
Same HS as Jacoby Pinckney
And Myles Tate- teammate PG who we have an early CB on.
I am loving the work that Young is putting into recruiting. Especially as he admitted it was his weak point. Now to back it up on the courts this fall.
I missed that if he ever said it was a weak point. He and Babcock highlighted their commitment to recruiting from the get go. However, a lot of fans were quick to suggest that recruiting was the missing part of his resume since he coached at the small college level.
From April 10...
That success is a reason why athletic director Whit Babcock believes Young is the right man for the job.
"We wanted someone that could build it and sustain it, like Coach Young," Babcock said. "We want to switch from this 'challenger brand' to a 'champion brand,' and he's the guy for it. He has beaten the best, he knows recruiting, his values fit our culture, and he wants to be here."
Young addressed the state of the program and spoke about recruiting, putting emphasis on recruiting the Commonwealth as the number one priority.
"There was a time where I think I knew every high school basketball coach in Virginia," Young said. "I'd like to rebuild those connections."
His recruiting plan starts in Virginia and leads into states like North and South Carolina, while also recruiting the Atlanta area and the state of Florida. To do that, he's going to need to put together a talented staff.
"We're going to put the right guys in the right positions," Young said. "The process is going to be fluid, and we're going to try to make decisions before the dead period in recruiting ends on Thursday."
He said he didn't pay much attention to "analytics" and leaves that to staff.
I thought I remembered him also saying he didn't like the AAU circuit and all that it entailed. I could be mis-remembering, but still happy with his recruiting so far.
quite plausible; I don't know of any coach that likes it.
How many times has a recruit said "my Dad knows/played with coach" or "my coach knows coach". Something to be said for stability and deep relationships built over time. Combine that with young, talented, charismatic asst. coaches....
This may get really fun!
👀⁉️
UPDATE:
For those of you keeping score at home, that .9749 composite represents the 6th-highest ranked Virginia Tech recruit ever (just behind Clarke, Hill, and Nolley)
Gonna guess its him?
Boom!
https://twitter.com/jeffborzello
What's with the gohookies lately?
2 Os in hoops
so, I don't know how to do the whole emoji thing...was he trying to put three turkeys in there and one of them just didn't take?
yeah you can use type out a word and it will suggest an emoji, looks like he didnt take the suggestion and just left the word by accident
Man, If this keeps going we are going to far surpass what Buzz did in the near future. On top of that, the floodgates of high ranking recruits may open and stay open. This is exciting.
Now snag the Dorman boys and call it a day.
Holy fuck, all aboard the hype train
¡CMY es en fuego!
Dear god actual good recruit news
My sauce says he flipped a while ago but was tired of waiting on the Feaster decision so he pulled the trigger today.
CMY!
HUGE GET!!! As Buzz proved... the more top 100 guys you can get, the better- no matter the position! Great job Coach Young!!
awesome news for coach young! really excited to see the program build and grow.
meanwhile, in the football thread
Our backcourt is looking very strong for 2020. Bede as a senior, Cone with a year of experience, Bamisile, etc.
New timetable talk re: 2020 PF Zed Key
Key got an offer from Mike Young and staff this past June right after he took an unofficial visit. Also holds offers from Cincy, Florida, Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio St., Providence, St. Louis, Seton Hall, and Wisconsin, among others.
Florida is the only official visit (September) he had firmly scheduled as of a month ago, but he had previously expressed interest in visiting to Cincinnati, Wisconsin, and Tennessee (no offer), as well.
His game looks almost identical to KJ- really stunningly so with the crafty post moves, step backs, etc. A couple of inches shorter but more athletic than KJ.
Edit: 92% FT shooter last year :-O