Recruiting - 2013

[VeniceMenace]

More takes on Yacoubou from those who saw the kid play, comments following the announcement he chose SLU:

http://www.vuhoops.com/villanova-basketball/2013/6/1/4387908/achraf-yacoubou-villanova-transfer-to-st-louis#comments

[BANG! He Got It!]

Roselle Catholic PG @HakimSaintil20 will commit to South Alabama today, he tells @SNYtv.

Per Adam Zagoria

[cheeseman]

I hate even posting on this since discussing Sodi is so irrelevant to where this program is at today but Sodi did take us to NITs his first two years. We lost in the first round to Minnesota I believe the first year and beat Iowa on the Drejaj 3 pointer at the buzzer then lost to ND the next year. It was year 3 with all the injuries that the train jumped the rails and he never recruited well enough to get us back on track.

Ah yes - now I remember that - thanks for jogging my memory.

[Taj79]

So much for Saintil going to prep school then, eh? I still wish we had one more PG in the fold to at least sit and learn behind Jett and McCall. With McBroom's contributions still yet unknown, it would have been nice considering McBroom is all we have left after Jett, McCall and Barnett leave this year. Not a fan of the situation right now.

[cheeseman]

So much for Saintil going to prep school then, eh? I still wish we had one more PG in the fold to at leats sit an dlearn behind Jett and McCall. With McBroom's contributions still yet unknown, it woul dhav ebeen nice considering McBroom is all we have left after Jett, McCall and Barnett leave this year. Not a fan of the situation right now.

I agree - we do need another guard. As some have posted - guards are a plenty, no problem getting guards. Well then lets get another one.

[thetorch]

So much for Saintil going to prep school then, eh? I still wish we had one more PG in the fold to at least sit and learn behind Jett and McCall. With McBroom's contributions still yet unknown, it would have been nice considering McBroom is all we have left after Jett, McCall and Barnett leave this year. Not a fan of the situation right now.

Saintil was never the answer. There is a reason he is playing for South Alabama. I like the fact that Crews and staff didn't go into desperation mode this offseason and add 1 or 2 players just to fill scholarships. They still have time to add a contributor this offseason and have a head start on next years class.

[almaman]

Saintil was never the answer. There is a reason he is playing for South Alabama. I like the fact that Crews and staff didn't go into desperation mode this offseason and add 1 or 2 players just to fill scholarships. They still have time to add a contributor this offseason and have a head start on next years class.

Agree and if things go as swimmingingly as we think they should this season it will be pretty easy to sell some high profile PG on being man to rebuild with around our three experienced bigs. Of course if anybody appears that's good enough now, grab him.

[Quality Is Job 1]

So, is it relatively safe to say that the c/o '13 is complete and that there will be 6 schollies to give for the 2014 recruiting class? If so, it appears we have:

Fr. G/F Mike Crawford (MC) -- 6'5" (Indiana swingman rated highly in his state; signed in the fall and then had an attention-getting senior season; may have had more "prominent" schools offering had he not eschewed the AAU circuit in favor of playing golf, another sport he excels at, in the summers)

Fr. F Reggie Agbeko (sp? -- RA) -- 6'8" (left-handed power forward who's drawn some comparisons [here] to former Billiken great Anthony Bonner; loves defense and can finish around the basket with either hand);

Fr. F Tanner Lancona (TL [no, not Tommie Liddell (I, II, or III)]) -- 6'8" or 9" (with more of a perimeter offensive game, reminiscent of '12 Billiken grad Cody Ellis, but left-handed);

Jr. G Ash Yacoubou (AY) -- 6'4" (transfered from Villanova because of lack of play, highly regarded out of high school, will sit out 2013-14 and have two years of eligibility beginning in 2014-15).

Did I miss anything?

[Billiken Rich]

So, is it relatively safe to say that the c/o '13 is complete and that there will be 6 schollies to give for the 2014 recruiting class? If so, it appears we have:

Fr. G/F Mike Crawford (MC) -- 6'5" (Indiana swingman rated highly in his state; signed in the fall and then had an attention-getting senior season; may have had more "prominent" schools offering had he not eschewed the AAU circuit in favor of playing golf, another sport he excels at, in the summers)

Fr. F Reggie Agbeko (sp? -- RA) -- 6'8" (left-handed power forward who's drawn some comparisons [here] to former Billiken great Anthony Bonner; loves defense and can finish around the basket with either hand);

Fr. F Tanner Lancona (TL [no, not Tommie Liddell (I, II, or III)]) -- 6'8" or 9" (with more of a perimeter offensive game, reminiscent of '12 Billiken grad Cody Ellis, but left-handed);

Jr. G Ash Yacoubou (AY) -- 6'4" (transfered from Villanova because of lack of play, highly regarded out of high school, will sit out 2013-14 and have two years of eligibility beginning in 2014-15).

Did I miss anything?

Nope....and that looks like a much better class than I though we could expect. Also nice to have a 2014 stud in the fold. Why the hell did Crews go to Army and not somewhere like Indiana?

[West Pine Jim]

Could it be that we still have a foreign player on our radar to complete the 2013 class ? Stay tuned this summer.

[NH]

Could it be that we still have a foreign player on our radar to complete the 2013 class ? Stay tuned this summer.

Are you hinting or speculating?

[ACE]

Are you hinting or speculating?

In other words, are you an insider or message board moron?

[West Pine Jim]

Are you hinting or speculating?

Both. My source is reliable, but didn't foresee the Yacoubou transfer. A juco signing had been predicted. The possibility of another mystery player for the fall is intriguing, no ?

[West Pine Jim]

In other words, are you an insider or message board moron?

I prefer message board dolt.

[jbizzle09]

Could it be that we still have a foreign player on our radar to complete the 2013 class ? Stay tuned this summer.

Mmmmmm, WPJ throwing some crumbs out there for the needy. I like it!

[TheChosenOne]

Mmmmmm, WPJ throwing some crumbs out there for the needy. I like it!

Didn't someone mention a somewhat high profile transfer with local ties that could be a possibility or is that off of the table at this point?

[almaman]

Didn't someone mention a somewhat high profile transfer with local ties that could be a possibility or is that off of the table at this point?

The roll the staff's on I would not be surprised if the last scholly goes to high level prospect.

[almaman]

So we have one schollie left for this year correct? if so, this can be used for any of these; h s grad from this year to play or be red shirted this year,a juco kid who could play this year, a prep school kid (An entity that gets ever more mysterious to me), who would be a freshmen, or a transfer who would have to sit out and then would be whatever his next year would of been? If all of the above is correct when does time run out on awarding it for any of the above? Once that deadline passes it is then rolled over into next year's batch?

I am thinking that as long as enrolled by first day of school kid could be signed. I am also guessing not likely we could sign some one day before first game and he could play, so I'm going out on a limb and say that we have a countdown on this last possible entry into one of the best recruiting class in recent memory.

Starting with the early signing of Crawford every step of this recruiting season has been = or > than the avg expectations of Joe Mbmoron. Being listed as a choice with a bunch of real major programs with as many guys as we have over the summer is jarring to this old rooter. I assume this is new to program and not just a result of WWW getting more info out there than back in the day. Then we sign 2 guys for next year, one another "I can't believe we're even in the running" guy, and the other 6' 11' which means walk right in in my book.

With all that out there I can't believe this thread isn't rocketing toward 300. We got 45 days that we could be dreaming up all kinds of things that now-a-daze could come true. The way JC and his recruiting crew have played it so far, I wouldn't be surprised to see them pull something off with our last offer.

[JMM28]

The player would have to be registered for classes by around the mid 2nd week of school I believe. As far as using it, it could be awarded to a walk on at midyear if they want to go that route. Luckily it is not a "if you don't use it, you lose it" scenario. There will be the same 13 scholarships available next year.

[MB73]

Nope....and that looks like a much better class than I though we could expect. Also nice to have a 2014 stud in the fold. Why the hell did Crews go to Army and not somewhere like Indiana?

I mentioned months ago that a very good source from Indiana U. told me that while at Evansville Crews was offered Michigan, Iowa, and one other Big 10 head coach job (he thought Illinois but not positive)... considered a golden boy on the way up... but for unknown reasons, declined; speculation on why he did not want those jobs is complex. Has anyone else heard that, has it been discussed? I am not certain of this, but reasonably confident.

So, what we MIGHT have here is an excellent coach who finally is moving up to the bigger challenge, into the limelight. RM thought he was outstanding. We shall see.

They kids have not played, but he has exceeded my expectations by far a it relates to the apparent caliber of recruits since Biondi got off his ass and made Crews the official head coach. In such a short time Crews has been remarkable. A lot of doubters and one who even declared "anyone but Crews" seem to have miscalculated.

BUT there is a long way to go... Crews did well this past season, now we will see him tested again.

[Billiken Rich]

I mentioned months ago that a very good source from Indiana U. told me that while at Evansville Crews was offered Michigan, Iowa, and one other Big 10 head coach job (he thought Illinois but not positive)... considered a golden boy on the way up... but for unknown reasons, declined; speculation on why he did not want those jobs is complex. Has anyone else heard that, has it been discussed? I am not certain of this, but reasonably confident.

So, what we MIGHT have here is an excellent coach who finally is moving up to the bigger challenge, into the limelight. RM thought he was outstanding. We shall see.

They kids have not played, but he has exceeded my expectations by far a it relates to the apparent caliber of recruits since Biondi got off his ass and made Crews the official head coach. In such a short time Crews has been remarkable. A lot of doubters and one who even declared "anyone but Crews" seem to have miscalculated.

BUT there is a long way to go... Crews did well this past season, now we will see him tested again.

The Oregon game made me WAY too despondant for a while.

[almaman]

The Oregon game made me WAY too despondant for a while.

Fortunately the staff seemed to have gotten back on feet quickly.

[Clock_Tower]

The Oregon game made me WAY too despondant for a while.

You're right. Expectations were quite high for this year... the team did accomplish a lot and at times played unbelievable. The wins over Butler and VCU were nothing short of dominating. When we were on, it was awesome. When we weren't, there was just not a back-up plan or enough of a back-up game to still get the job done. Regardless of stats, we were just not consistently good from the outside or consistently good from the inside. Our size, depth and roster options were abit unconventional. Most of the times, it worked. Other times, we were simply exposed. Oregon was red hot, not a good match-up for us and we got exposed - big time. Still, it was a special year.

[slu72]

I think we were 3 for 22 from 3 land. Shoot just 30% and it's a game. Plus OU shot well above their avg from there. We got Perfect Stormed.

[GOSLU68]

You're right. Expectations were quite high for this year... the team did accomplish a lot and at times played unbelievable. The wins over Butler and VCU were nothing short of dominating. When we were on, it was awesome. When we weren't, there was just not a back-up plan or enough of a back-up game to still get the job done. Regardless of stats, we were just not consistently good from the outside or consistently good from the inside. Our size, depth and roster options were abit unconventional. Most of the times, it worked. Other times, we were simply exposed. Oregon was red hot, not a good match-up for us and we got exposed - big time. Still, it was a special year.

I hope the recruiting takes advantage of the shellackings we took from a small number of teams including Oregon and Kansas. We need to bring it to a new level. Coaches get fired for getting in the NCAA field and not getting past the first two rounds.