Recruiting Updates

[UNCA Alum]

A guy from Charlotte that we were evaluating has pledged to George Washington. I honestly didn't think he was good enough to play for us. Shot the ball really well, but didn't bring much else to the table from a defensive, athleticism, or ballhandling standpoint. Don't see how he'll get any PT at George Washington, but he's a good student and it's a pretty good school. I don't think we ever offered.


http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p= ... id=4832193

[kingaling42]

Another junior in the works.. that last sentence is huge for us.. If he doesn't go bigger, we're in a good spot..

http://www.gastongazette.com/sports/ter ... layer.html

Alum- your boy Clyburn is going to Presby..

Well he went bigger.. Terry Whisnant committed to Florida State..

[kingaling42]

Recruit came in this week..

Some good things (i.e. first play of pick up, this 6'10" 240 lb recruit sealed Stubbs on a ball reversal, ball was entered & dunked- which actually means several things but I digress).. I hear he's very interested in coming to UNCA & enjoyed his visit.. he has to finish a summer school class for NC requirements sinche went to prep school last year.. has very notable HS background at big time program.. went to a different prep school last year even though he was an academic qualifier out of HS..

More info to come shortly hopefully... I'm not at liberty to announce this one just yet as this kid is way off anyone's radar & that's the way it should remain... I think we will take this in exchange of most other bigs we've looked at this year.. We shall see..

[kingaling42]

Evidently our admission department had problems accepting a kid with limited prep school & JUCO class work all of 1 year removed from being an academic qualifier out of Oak Hill with a decent SAT score to boot.. I guess they think he lost all his intelligence this past year- the craziness that happens at our school...

So he's moving on to play at Oregon State now instead of being a Bulldog..
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaver ... signs.html

ESPN said coming out of Oak Hill..

Brown intrigued some high major suitors this weekend with his terrific frame and raw tools. At just under seven feet with good shoulders and a powerful upper body, he already has the build of a Big East center. While the rest of his game is still a couple of years away, he has some undeniable tools. Although conditioning is a factor at the moment, he moves pretty well for a guy his size, has serviceable hands, a soft touch around the hoop, and a willingness to rebound out of his area. He needs to polish his low post game and develop a signature move, but he is so big and strong that he typically scores in single coverage regardless.

Good Luck Mr. Brown, I wish you well..

C'mon Admissions, Ms. Ponder & Ms. Cone- I'm all for not setting up kids for failure at our school- but given the basketball coaches track record of former & some current players who came in with marginal grades/test scores (lower than Brown's) and then seeing where those student-athletes ended up.. i.e graduating or in some cases even excelling at UNCA in their coursework- I would think you have to really justify not admitting a qualifier out of HS one year removed regardless of his athletic abilities.. but I'm sure admissions is still harping every year about the lack of minority applicants and somewhere down the line, the coaches will be expected to produce more wins or higher attendance in Kimmel Arena.. at the point in time when that happens- you need to look in the mirror & ask yourself if you're giving all the tools necessary to have certain expectations..

[GoUNCA]

If the kid couldn't get in, he shouldn't be here. Period. All the best to him at a degree factory.

[kingaling42]

I agree with that principle as well- however, pretend for just a moment that he has grades and SAT scores higher than other current student-athletes and also higher than other incoming freshman at UNCA- because he does..

Now.. you were saying?

[GoUNCA]

We aren't Davidson. If you are incapable of meeting the bar that the admission committee sets, then there is a problem somewhere, even if you don't list it or know it. The bar isn't low, but we certainly don't set it too high. Especially for athletes.

I know more than a couple of my peers with awesome test scores (much better than mine) who should never have been admitted and certainly shouldn't be becoming doctors. Scores aren't everything.

You win some, you lose some. It'll be alright.

[kingaling42]

I believe I understand your perspective (disclaimer: I presume that you are of non-athletic origin in your attendance at UNCA so I feel you have no real idea about some of the athletes who have been previously admitted- this is not to say you're clueless just not necesssarily knowledgeable of some exceptions that have occurred of which this kid was not even in need of)-

I do think that admissions shouldn't raise the bar after providing initial feedback about the kid's status.. Go through his stuff and tell him & the coaches where he stands realistically - don't string kids and your coworkers along.. There are ways of being respectful of the efforts & time that other people spend doing their jobs and the kid should be able to be provided accurate feedback since they received his complete records from the start..

I'm pretty sure even old JC will have some concerns with how things were handled.. then again I've been wrong about her before..

[GoUNCA]

I really don't care if there were exemptions in the past. Academic standards go up. Be able to pick up a book and a basketball.

If you can't meet admissions lowest standards you have some problems that need to be dealt with.

[kingaling42]

You must have no idea that some of your favorite players at UNCA don't live up to that very statement.. Quite naive...

Don't forget that one of our grad's just this year was not an academic qualifier as an incoming freshman- he sat out 1 year academically to start off & just graduated by taking 18 hours last semester of senior level coursework, 2 A's, 4 B's.. Kids have proven they can respond to UNCA's standards..

But don't let me take you away from that high horse- he'll get lonely if you leave him too long..

[GoUNCA]

You must have no idea that some of your favorite players at UNCA don't live up to that very statement.. Quite naive...

Don't forget that one of our grad's just this year was not an academic qualifier as an incoming freshman- he sat out 1 year academically to start off & just graduated by taking 18 hours last semester of senior level coursework, 2 A's, 4 B's.. Kids have proven they can respond to UNCA's standards..

But don't let me take you away from that high horse- he'll get lonely if you leave him too long..

I know we have dumb basketball players, I have no illusions about it. Brett Warner was a bulldog, remember?

All of the players on our roster did pass through the gauntlet that is our admissions office ...even Brett Warner. This guy apparently did not.

Do I need to start making a list of players who did not make it academically to counter your example? Some people make it, some don't. But, statistically speaking, you have to have some standards.

When it comes to academics, I'll sit on the high horse. No problem. It is a UNIVERSITY.

You are more than welcome to push for the admission of any tall imbecile who can dribble a ball.

[kingaling42]

This kid did meet UNCA's minimum standards in terms of grades & SAT scores, that's where you're an mistaken for jumping to assumptions- they were evidently uncomfortable that he had started at prep school last year but did not complete the year there in NJ as he was unhappy in the school & program- then he took some part-time JUCO classes in his home state of Texas in lieu of doing nothing at all.. Upfront they stated that all he had to do was to take a math class this summer (due to NC requirements- needed 4 maths) but now they want him to take more classes this summer before considering admitting him- the rationale for more classes is that they wanted to ensure he could take a full load of coursework.. without posting specifics here just know that his HS grades at Oak Hill were quite good- his SAT score was above UNCA's average & they asked him to meet secondary requirements weeks after providing the original reply of just needing the math class.. no other information was provided later so the combination of factors and the string along of various folks involved was unprofessional at best- incompetent at worst.. Personally, I moved here from CA due to family illness and took a year off from transferring schools to UNCA- I did not take any classes so I could help my family out- I couldn't imagine a school having denied me because I took time off between schools, moreless this kid who actually went back to Texas and went ahead and took some classes at a JUCO in the downtime.. That pretty much sounds like the right thing to do & I assure you it is more than what any of the guys who you can list that struggled with academics at UNCA would have done.

This is an athletics forum & although it is at an institution of higher learning- I'm not going to bog it down with academic oriented crap though... the bottom line is that in this situation like every other recruit we bring to campus, went through an upfront process of submitting grades, transcripts, and test scores- this recruit unlike others was strung along far longer than necessary and the admission decision aside- the department was not respectful of the efforts of everyone onboard- subsequently the signing deadline of May 19th has now come & gone & what was once assured as a prospective student-athlete has signed somewhere else & other recruits were not able to be contacted nor followed up on because of the assurances provided.

We bring in recruits who sometimes do not make the cut at UNCA- that's fine by me if that's the way it works out- if the kid had been turned down upfront then that would have been fine as well, however given the dynamics of this situation it could have be handled better. All this does is illustrate to the kid that he made the right move to go elsewhere, perhaps the Beaver's at least told the guy the truth all along- meanwhile we look like a Mickey Mouse institution in the handling of the situation. But at least we've got standards right??

[ktrain]

I think it's probably a moot point. I find it difficult to believe that a recruit would opt for the Big South if he could go to the PAC-10.

But if he had chosen the Bulldogs over Oregon State, you'd have to wonder if he was too "academically challenged" for Asheville, or maybe just plain crazy.

[kingaling42]

Ktrain- I actually agree with you to some degree surprisingly..

This kid probably will not play that much at Oregon State as he's not at the level of the Pac 10 right now.. I wish him will & hope he ends up playing well out there, but he is going to be a project for them.. In BSC play he would have been much like a Cruz Daniels type from the start- although he is more polished offensively and with a better upper body & frame- same shot blocking, defensive potential as Daniels..

With the other departures and only 2 recruits signed we cannot afford many injuries or even full practices could be limited with the low number of players for next year's team.. That should pretty much be the end of this thread though as the signing period has ended.. a new recruiting thread for 2011 should open up soon for the following year..

[GoUNCA]

This is an athletics forum & although it is at an institution of higher learning- I'm not going to bog it down with academic oriented crap though

Obviously.

Like I said, best of luck to the kid at the degree factory.

[UNCA Alum]

It's funny when yall two argue about crap that you, ultimately, probably agree on.

1. The kid shouldn't have been admitted to UNCA if he did not meet our baseline academic requirements.
2. The administration should have been more proactive and time-conscious in notifying the recruit and the coaching staff about his admission status so they both could have moved on to other options.

Some basketball players do not cut it academically. Sucks when it happens, but these type of situations arise in the general student body as well. I had more than a few non-athletic friends that either got kicked out or temporarily suspended due to grades. I think in almost all cases these things happen not because the individuals are not able to do the work (which would be an admissions issue), but rather because they do not do a good job of choosing their priorities. For the most part, the professors at UNCA are going to give you a C if you put forth your best effort, attend class, do your homework, and pay attention. If you choose to do otherwise, well it's your own damn fault. Not the fault of the administration, coaches, "The Man," professors, George Bush, etc. If you want to point the finger at any of the higher ups when this happens, I would put the blame on the coaching staff for not being able to identify during the recruitment process that the student-athlete doesn't have the right mindset towards education. This, however, is extremely tough to identify. No high school teacher or administrator is going to say anything that could possibly prevent one of their kids from getting a free college education.

On the other hand, you also have some basketball players (and regular students) that are smart enough to stay eligible while not always going to class, doing their homework, or studying. I might not agree with their attitude towards education, but more power to 'em. However, it also helps to give the perception that the basketball players are not fully committed to education. Which might be legitimate.

Then, on the third hand, you have student athletes that could have gotten in regardless of whether or not they played basketball and did take their academics seriously. We've had plenty of basketball players over the past 5-6 years with above 3.0 GPAs. Yet they don't factor into the scenario when stereotypes are created.

[BornToRun86]

[kingaling42]

Looks like we will have 3 players coming in next year to this point..

Toles Hartman- from Virginia: incoming Freshman
Trent Meyer- from Florida: incoming Freshman

Also looks like we landed a JUCO transfer from Gary, Indiana- not sure how many years he will have left- I'm guessing at least 2 years and should be eligible to play next year.. 6'7"/8" probably 215-220 lbs.. more to follow..

Leaves us with 1 scholarship remaining which I assume we will hold on to for next year & allow us to sign 2 more players next year (note: I'm counting Horsnby already towards next year's recruiting/scholarships to give)

Player/Scholarship Breakdown
2011 (2): Stubbs, JW
2012 (6): Primm, Quinard, Dickey, Stepheson, Hobbs, JUCO kid??
2013 (2): Jaron, DJ
2014 (2): Hartman, Meyer

[kingaling42]

Jon Nwannunu transferring after 1 year at Vincennes University (JUCO), so he will have 3 years eligibility at UNCA- not 2 years as I had previously speculated..

Player/Scholarship Breakdown
2011 (2): Stubbs, JW
2012 (5): Primm, Quinard, Dickey, Stepheson, Hobbs,
2013 (3): Jaron, DJ, Nwannunu
2014 (2): Hartman, Meyer

Meyer/Hartman will arrive this weekend to start summer school classes & hopefully get in some work..


Reviews coming out of HS for Jon Nwannunu
Jon Nwannunu, a 6-8, 225-pound power forward from Merrillville High School, averaged 14 points, 8 rebounds and a couple of blocked shots per game during his senior year. He was rated as one of Indiana’s top five high school power forwards by Indiana Basketball Digest and was among those invited to Hoosier Basketball Magazine’s Top-60 Senior Boys Workout.

Davis said Nwannunu, who flirted with the idea of attending Indiana University with legitimate chances of walking on for the Hoosiers, has “a lot of potential, a lot of upside. He's been well-coached at Merrillville and coach (Jim) East has done a great job with him. He'll probably play one year with us and move on to Division I. We've had a pretty good tradition of moving guys on (to Division I programs)."

With a wingspan of more than seven feet, the physical Nwannunu will be counted on as a shot-blocker and rebounder who provides some put-back points after hitting the boards.

[GoUNCA]

I'm hoping the 225 lbs is accurate. Nwannanu could potentially help out on the boards this year, not to mention helping the frontcourt rotation. Seems good to me.

[kingaling42]

Thought this was an interesting recruitment period article that vapoppa posted on the RU board..

http://hamptonroads.com/2010/07/dollars ... -more-less

[ktrain]

I thought you guys would like this:

http://www.zagsblog.com/2010/07/21/bruc ... more-37124

[GoUNCA]

Warsaw senior-to-be Nic Moore said he has new offers from Akron, Illinois State, UNC-Asheville and Western Illinois, but he added that IPFW is "at the top of the list of mid- majors" among his offers.

http://www.indystar.com/article/2010073 ... -attention

I don't know if we had mentioned him yet. We seem to be the farthest located school who have offered, not to mention he seems prepared to stay in the midwest.

[kingaling42]

Just a clip of the Boo Williams team action.. Keith Hornsby is #34 (on the same squad Ricky Price #10- is committed to Radford- he's 5'11" 170lbs)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwWOHJoBL8A

[UNCA Alum]

Scout.com says we have given an offer to Jackson Simmons, a 6'7" 190 PF out of Smoky Mountain HS.

http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p= ... id=3988006

Also has offers from Charlotte, App State, Western, Elon, Duquesne and has visited Butler. Might be a little out of our league.

[UNCA Alum]

We also have an offer out to 6'2" guard Corey Littlejohn of Columbia, SC. Seems like he would be a Clemson lean, but he also has offers from Gardner Webb and Wofford.

http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p= ... id=4618478

[UNCA Alum]

UNCA Alum curse alert. Jackson Simmons has decided to walk on at UNC. Doesn't sound like my kind of guy anyway! Good riddance.

http://northcarolina.scout.com/2/993388.html