Recruiting - 2013

[Pistol]

Bump for the last two spots, as this was getting buried:

Paul Jesperson, SG: 6-6, 197, Virginia. Transfer eligible as junior in 2014-2015. Interest from SLU, Northern Iowa, USC, Nebraska, and Florida. Latest (5/19): Jesperson is back home in Merrill, Wisconsin and will not make any other visits. A Wisconsin Badgers source says he'll likely choose between UNI and USC. His younger brother just committed to Pepperdine, which bodes well for USC. Previous: Jesperson tweeted "UNI, St. Louis, USC... 3 great visits, couple more left tho" on the 11th. It appears he will not be visiting Nebraska or Florida. At SLU, Manning (Virginia native) and Barnett (Wisconsin native) were his hosts. Pappy's was part of the itinerary.

Randy Onwuasor, PG: 6-3, 190, Inglewood HS, Inglewood, CA. Top Choices: SLU, Miami-Ohio, LSU, and Pitt. Other offers: UC-Irvine, UC-Riverside, and Cal State-Fullerton. Interest from Tennessee, Tennessee Tech, Seton Hall, Florida State, Arkansas, UNLV, Tulane, New Mexico State, and Utah. Latest (5/20): Told Ben Weixlmann he will go on one more visit this week and make a decision by the end of the month. Previous: Onwuasor has visited SLU and Miami-Ohio. SLU and Miami have both made in-home visits. He will be playing in the Nike Global Challenge in DC in July. He has been retweeting SLU fans a lot, but more recent tweets feature Tennessee, Tennessee Tech, and LSU. A TTU assistant apparently visited, and he now says he plans to visit Knoxville soon. No word on offers from either. Onwuasor has picked up an offer from LSU and has already visited there. What looked like a SLU-Miami race has now opened back up.

Jordan Strawberry, PG: 6-1, 170, Mater Dei HS, Santa Ana, CA. Offers: SLU, UC-Riverside, and UNC-Wilmington. Claims interest from Arizona, Virginia Tech, Gonzaga, California, and Florida State, but that appears to be stale. Latest (5/16): Darryl Strawberry told Frank Cusamano that SLU "looked at" Jordan but that he's considering prep school in Connecticut. Previous: Visit to SLU (and dad) went very well. Since then, UNC-Wilmington has gotten in the mix and has one scholarship left to give after Addison Spruill, a shooting guard from Brevard CC, committed on 4/30. He seems to be SLU's backup plan to Randy Onwuasor, but SLU seems like his best opportunity if he doesn't reclassify as a 2014 recruit. This list came out on 5/1 and Strawberry's name and picture is in it. Interestingly, Onwuasor and Lancona are not mentioned. He also told a buddy on Twitter that his visit "out there" went well and he's trying to make his decision.

JaQuail Townser, PG: 6-3, 185, SWIC. Juco transfer eligible as sophomore in 2013-2014. Unclear whether SLU has offered or who else has. Latest (5/19): Townser has already visited SLU multiple times, at least once with another teammate. Townser averaged 8.8 PPG at SWIC this season along with 4.8 APG and 3.2 RPG on 42.5% shooting (26.0% from 3 and 78.7% from FT). The Telegraph on May 2 said, "Look for former Alton High standouts JaQuail Townser and Tony Bradley, both at SWIC in Belleville, to sign soon with four-year colleges." Here's a

of some high school (2012) highlights.

Achraf Yacoubou, SG: 6-4, 210, Villanova. Transfer eligible as junior in 2014-2015. Interested in SLU, Pitt, and Georgia Tech. Latest (5/22): Yacoubou will be visiting Pitt this coming Sunday, 5/26. Kane has reopened his recruitment after changing his mind about Pitt and Vanderbilt will not be allowing Sheldon Jeter to transfer to Pitt, so Yacoubou is Pitt's top transfer target. Previous: Two Tweets from sportswriters on Friday, 5/3 said that Yacoubou visited SLU and will be visiting Pitt and Georgia Tech next. UNLV and Miami are out of contention. According to pantherlair.com writer Matthew Steinbrink, Pitt is focused on Yacoubou, Sheldon Jeter (if he decides to transfer), and DeAndre Kane.

[Pistol]

Nothing new on these guys in the last couple days, as far as I can tell.

I'd expect to hear a decision from Jesperson any day now. He's home, he's not taking any other visits- it's just a matter of when he's ready to announce.

Onwuasor said it'd be by the end of the month. He has one last visit this week after seeing LSU last week.

Strawberry should be announcing he's going to prep school soon.

I have no idea where Yacoubou stands but we all know Pitt suddenly has room again.

Not aware of any other 2013 names- maybe we have an international kid or a transfer or someone along those lines, flying quietly under the radar. It wouldn't surprise me at all if we fill one or two spots with guys not on this list.

[moytoy12]

Nothing new on these guys in the last couple days, as far as I can tell.

I'd expect to hear a decision from Jesperson any day now. He's home, he's not taking any other visits- it's just a matter of when he's ready to announce.

Onwuasor said it'd be by the end of the month. He has one last visit this week after seeing LSU last week.

Strawberry should be announcing he's going to prep school soon.

I have no idea where Yacoubou stands but we all know Pitt suddenly has room again.

Not aware of any other 2013 names- maybe we have an international kid or a transfer or someone along those lines, flying quietly under the radar. It wouldn't surprise me at all if we fill one or two spots with guys not on this list.

I tell ya, this post would be quite depressing had we not landed the 3 guys we did.

[slu72]

I tell ya, this post would be quite depressing had we not landed the 3 guys we did.

For sure. Still am a little bummed we can't get a PG to commit. I'll be shocked if RO commits to us. It always seems thr more time that passes from a recruit's visit the advantage seems to shift to the schools he visits nost recently.

[Old guy]

That is probably an incorrect statement SLU72, the coaching staff can probably get PGs to commit. What they have not done yet is to get a PG they want to have in the team to commit. That is a different issue. I do not think we should panic at this time. I think we are doing fine as is. Some things cannot be hurried.

[slu72]

I wasn't looking for a Soderberg filler type, eg Dixon, Obi. I'd rather we hold it open than bring in a body. We seem to be going after quality and that's the way it should be, Just wish one of our targets would say yes.

[RUBillsFan]

Achraf Yacoubou - Pitt (3 open scholarships), Georgia Tech (2 open scholarships)

Pitt was supposed to get Vanderbilt transfer Sheldon Jeter, but that appears to have been nixed because Vandy won't allow Jeter to transfer to Pitt. They are also high on the list for DeAndre Kane.

Randy Onwuasor - Miami, OH (1 open scholarship), LSU (appears to be over scholarship limit)

I believe LSU has a few players that are expected to transfer or are transferring which is why VC has them over the scholarship limit, but they may still have room for Onwuasor.

Paul Jesperson - UNI (1 open scholarship), USC (2 open scholarships)

[Pistol]

Kane announced that he was committing to Pitt and then pulled back for some reason. Now Memphis appears to be the frontrunner for him. So we've gotten screwed by both him and Vanderbilt, as Pitt now has room for Yacoubou again.

[JMM28]

[The Pelican]

I wasn't looking for a Soderberg filler type, eg Dixon, Obi. I'd rather we hold it open than bring in a body. We seem to be going after quality and that's the way it should be, Just wish one of our targets would say yes.

It's hard to say yes to something when there is nothing to say yes to. I will let you read between the lines.

I know this should go in the D is T thread; however, one side of the story can be told. I'm sure that one would never publicly reveal on Twitter that their GPA was on life support at best and didn't really feel like putting in effort in their life in an all around fashion. People will always put their best foot forward even if it is prosthetic.

[JettFlight5]

Sheldon Jeter's case is going to get real, real ugly.

Supposedly (Sportsline had the links), Jeter had been mentioning Pitt even before he announced his intent to transfer. So some writers are putting 2 and 2 together insinuating that Pitt was talking to Jeter before his transfer. That would explain why Stallings would block him from going there.

Is tampering with scholarshipped student-athletes a violation of NCAA Rules?

[slu72]

You must know something us MB morons don't, if reading between the lines means we've offered these guys nothing.

[wgstl]

Sheldon Jeter's case is going to get real, real ugly.

Supposedly (Sportsline had the links), Jeter had been mentioning Pitt even before he announced his intent to transfer. So some writers are putting 2 and 2 together insinuating that Pitt was talking to Jeter before his transfer. That would explain why Stallings would block him from going there.

Is tampering with scholarshipped student-athletes a violation of NCAA Rules?

happened recently when mizzou was trying to contact some kid who had not told his school he was looking to transfer

kinda funny it was actually with a PITT kid named khem birch. wow, what a hypocrite dixon is.

[jimbofive]

wow, we really need some bodies for the 2017-2018 season, we need to step our recruiting up, ASAP.

[wgstl]

wow, we really need some bodies for the 2017-2018 season, we need to step our recruiting up, ASAP.

did you see what ben W tweeted a few weeks ago, they already have rankings for the 2020 class.

[HusakAttack]

wow, we really need some bodies for the 2017-2018 season, we need to step our recruiting up, ASAP.

more evidence that Crews cannot recruit...

[wgstl]

more evidence that Crews cannot recruit...

we may have to forfeit the 2015-16 season

[NH]

Sheldon Jeter's case is going to get real, real ugly.

Supposedly (Sportsline had the links), Jeter had been mentioning Pitt even before he announced his intent to transfer. So some writers are putting 2 and 2 together insinuating that Pitt was talking to Jeter before his transfer. That would explain why Stallings would block him from going there.

Is tampering with scholarshipped student-athletes a violation of NCAA Rules?

Tampering is most definitely a problem, and probably why Stallings is blocking Sheldon from transferring.

I was told Sheldon was going to Pitt well before it was announced he was going to transfer. So my experience would seem to agree with that sports line link.

[Pistol]

Did they contact Jeter before he announced his transfer intentions? I wouldn't be surprised. There were Tweets from all the Pitt basketball writers that Pitt was "prioritizing Deandre Kane, Sheldon Jeter (should he choose to transfer), and Achraf Yacoubou" - clearly before Jeter made the announcement.

Can Vandy publicly say that's why they're blocking it without starting a legal battle?

Because 95% of the time, I HATE when programs block transfers. The only ones I accept are tampering and destinations within the same conference. Otherwise, it's always a BS reason.

[JettFlight5]

Did they contact Jeter before he announced his transfer intentions? I wouldn't be surprised. There were Tweets from all the Pitt basketball writers that Pitt was "prioritizing Deandre Kane, Sheldon Jeter (should he choose to transfer), and Achraf Yacoubou" - clearly before Jeter made the announcement.

Can Vandy publicly say that's why they're blocking it without starting a legal battle?

Because 95% of the time, I HATE when programs block transfers. The only ones I accept are tampering and destinations within the same conference. Otherwise, it's always a BS reason.

I agree with what you said. Remember Martelli blocking Todd O'Brien?

I think tampering (if proven) should be subject to the SMU penalty, if not worse.

[Pistol]

I agree with what you said. Remember Martelli blocking Todd O'Brien?

I think tampering (if proven) should be subject to the SMU penalty, if not worse.

Yeah, that was an interesting story. Last season, right? Or has that been two years now?

I'm not sure I agree with you about the severity of penalty for it, but I don't like it at all. There need to be clearer guidelines about when guys are "free agents" for schools to call. As it stands, there is a lot of gray.

[JettFlight5]

Yeah, that was an interesting story. Last season, right? Or has that been two years now?

I'm not sure I agree with you about the severity of penalty for it, but I don't like it at all. There need to be clearer guidelines about when guys are "free agents" for schools to call. As it stands, there is a lot of gray.

The gray area is why it's so hard to enforce anything. Proving tampering would take a lot of legwork.

[slufanskip]

I don't get how a school can block a transfer. This is where someone should take the NCAA to court. You (the NCAA) say your scholarship is for 1 year. You choose not to renew, or I choose not to renew ... I'm free. The NCAA could not win. There isn't a freaking way in hell. The it's a private organization shouldn't work as most if not every school receives tax payers money of some sort. I'll never understand why there isn't a line of lawyers waiting to sue.

[RiseAndGrind]

Awesome.

[Pistol]

This is nice. I enjoy visuals.