Recruiting - 2022

[SLURadioBoy]

Williams seems to be a fan of Forte.

 

[Pistol]

Quion Williams - SF, 6-5, 185 - Mansfield, TX (Legacy) - AAU: Southern Assault (Adidas) - Twitter: @williams_quion
Offers: Saint Louis, Texas Tech, TCU, Texas A&M, Houston, Southeast Missouri, Cleveland State, Troy, Oral Roberts, Texas-Rio Grande Valley.

Interest: Creighton, Butler, Illinois, Minnesota, Penn State, Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia, Oregon, Arizona State, Utah, SMU, Tulsa, East Carolina, Wyoming, Gonzaga, Cornell, Northern Iowa, Murray State, North Texas, Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois, Youngstown State, Sam Houston State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Lamar, Texas-Arlington, Georgia State, Central Arkansas, Texas State, Arkansas State, Iona, Montana State, Radford, Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Latest News: Williams received an offer from SLU. (6/16/21)

Scouting Report: Williams is a tough, gritty, physical, athletic wing with an expanding skill set. He's a relentless defender. He's got a long, strong frame and excellent body control. He finishes hard through contact. He is from Jonesboro, Arkansas but transferred to Legacy HS in Mansfield, Texas before his junior year.

[SLURadioBoy]

Looks like Thames was on campus yesterday.

 

[Cowboy]

10 hours ago, Pistol said:

Quion Williams - SF, 6-5, 185 - Mansfield, TX (Legacy) - AAU: Southern Assault (Adidas) - Twitter: @williams_quion
Offers: Saint Louis, Texas Tech, TCU, Texas A&M, Houston, Southeast Missouri, Cleveland State, Troy, Oral Roberts, Texas-Rio Grande Valley.

Interest: Creighton, Butler, Illinois, Minnesota, Penn State, Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia, Oregon, Arizona State, Utah, SMU, Tulsa, East Carolina, Wyoming, Gonzaga, Cornell, Northern Iowa, Murray State, North Texas, Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois, Youngstown State, Sam Houston State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Lamar, Texas-Arlington, Georgia State, Central Arkansas, Texas State, Arkansas State, Iona, Montana State, Radford, Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Latest News: Williams received an offer from SLU. (6/16/21)

Scouting Report: Williams is a tough, gritty, physical, athletic wing with an expanding skill set. He's a relentless defender. He's got a long, strong frame and excellent body control. He finishes hard through contact. He is from Jonesboro, Arkansas but transferred to Legacy HS in Mansfield, Texas before his junior year.

-a lot to like but interesting that for a SF shooting is not specifically listed but I guess is part of 'expanding skill set' 

[Pistol]

1 minute ago, Cowboy said:

-a lot to like but interesting that for a SF shooting is not specifically listed but I guess is part of 'expanding skill set' 

I try to paraphrase what I read/see. I udpate and edit those as I see more. I think if you watch a little video on the guy, you'd be comfortable with the offer. He does a lot of things.

[3star_recruit]

10 minutes ago, Pistol said:

I try to paraphrase what I read/see. I udpate and edit those as I see more. I think if you watch a little video on the guy, you'd be comfortable with the offer. He does a lot of things.

At the mid-major level, there's two major categories of players that you have to take a long-term approach with: 

• The largely one-dimensional guy who is dynamite in that one dimension, e.g. Gibson Jimerson.  
• The guy who does multiple things well but hasn't demonstrated reliable long-distance shooting, e.g. Fred Thatch

If you recruit enough of these guys, eventually one of them will add the missing element and you've got an all-conference player.

[Pistol]

 

I admit my bias as a Chaminade alum - I just don't understand this move at all. He's a top-100 player being recruited by the entire Big Ten and loads of other power conference schools. What does this move get him?

I think others have vouched for Link Year Prep as a decent school but I have my questions with regard to this and a lot of other schools that have popped up recently.

[SLURadioBoy]

Tarris Reed is transferring from Chaminade.

 

[3star_recruit]

22 minutes ago, Pistol said:

 

I admit my bias as a Chaminade alum - I just don't understand this move at all. He's a top-100 player being recruited by the entire Big Ten and loads of other power conference schools. What does this move get him?

I think others have vouched for Link Year Prep as a decent school but I have my questions with regard to this and a lot of other schools that have popped up recently.

I can't think of a single good reason.  His now former high school produced 2 of the top 20 players currently in the NBA.  How many other high schools can say that?  It's a head scratcher.

[Pistol]

Just now, 3star_recruit said:

I can't think of a single good reason.  His now former high school produced 2 of the top 20 players currently in the NBA.  How many other high schools can say that?  It's a head scratcher.

Not to mention a third who retired with a title and multiple all-star appearances after a 12-year career (David Lee) and a fourth who has bounced around but appeared in 45 games in the past two seasons (Tyler Cook).

It's not going to raise his profile. The only things that we've come up with (offline text chain with a few other fellow alums) is that he can focus on basketball all the time, with more practice time and more games, and he's probably saving his family some money. Those both seem like short-sighted reasons to me, though.

LYP has been recruiting him and others hard for a while. I'd be really interested to see what the sales pitch looks like.

[billiken_roy]

Hopefully NOT $$$$'

[3star_recruit]

2 minutes ago, Pistol said:

Not to mention a third who retired with a title and multiple all-star appearances after a 12-year career (David Lee) and a fourth who has bounced around but appeared in 45 games in the past two seasons (Tyler Cook).

It's not going to raise his profile. The only things that we've come up with (offline text chain with a few other fellow alums) is that he can focus on basketball all the time, with more practice time and more games, and he's probably saving his family some money. Those both seem like short-sighted reasons to me, though.

LYP has been recruiting him and others hard for a while. I'd be really interested to see what the sales pitch looks like.

Seanwest pretty much gave us their sales pitch in his third post.  He was clearly impressed by it:

https://www.billikens.com/forum/index.php?/topic/28308-recruiting-2022/page/33/

I get that they aspire to be Oak Hill Midwest but when you're already at Chaminade and your school would have been nationally ranked in the preseason, I don't see the appeal.  At this point in LYP's development, it's a lateral move for a kid coming from Chaminade.

[wgstl]

1 hour ago, 3star_recruit said:

Seanwest pretty much gave us their sales pitch in his third post.  He was clearly impressed by it:

https://www.billikens.com/forum/index.php?/topic/28308-recruiting-2022/page/33/

I get that they aspire to be Oak Hill Midwest but when you're already at Chaminade and your school would have been nationally ranked in the preseason, I don't see the appeal.  At this point in LYP's development, it's a lateral move for a kid coming from Chaminade.

I don't know enough about this Prep school, but was Chaminade going to have a national schedule next season?  If not, and this prep school does, that would make sense to me.

[Pistol]

59 minutes ago, 3star_recruit said:

Seanwest pretty much gave us their sales pitch in his third post.  He was clearly impressed by it:

https://www.billikens.com/forum/index.php?/topic/28308-recruiting-2022/page/33/

I get that they aspire to be Oak Hill Midwest but when you're already at Chaminade and your school would have been nationally ranked in the preseason, I don't see the appeal.  At this point in LYP's development, it's a lateral move for a kid coming from Chaminade.

That's right, couldn't remember who shared. Here's his summary for anyone curious:

Link Year was originally a prep school only. It's a very good program and run extremely well. We are sending 3 guys there all 6'7 wings Jalen Hampton, Omar Henry, and Jackson Skipper. It's known to develop kids, have a great strength program, and send nearly their entire roster to the D1 level. Now they have a HS team called Link Academy. Based on what I know, donations from Nike, and the people behind it I'd expect it to reach levels similar to IMG Academy, Montverde, Oak Hill, etc... it will be a powerhouse. Their HS team will have a starting lineup of all 4 and 5 star kids to give you an idea. They will be releasing rosters soon. 

I want the school - and I mean school, not just basketball program - to be as legit as possible. Doesn't change how bitter I am at the moment, though. Nor does it change how the place comes across online, which is to say it looks like a basketball factory from the outside.

The problem I have with the prep school thing is that "prep school" can mean anything. It can mean absolutely legit, well established schools with great academics like Oak Hill and La Lumiere, or it can mean sports-focused training academies that also have strong college prep school programs like IMG, or it can mean charter schools set up solely to house a basketball program where players take easy online courses in their spare time and stay in low-rent apartments near a gym the team uses for practice. Willie Reed left Bishop Miege for one of these shady places. With huge variances from state to state and little to no oversight, the climate is ripe for unscrupulous actors to take advantage of aspiring players (international players being the most vulnerable) and pull some tax-free money out in the process.

I don't know where LYP stands on this spectrum or where it'll end up. It seems to have some serious backers behind it and could indeed be a more established player in the end. What isn't in question is how hard they're recruiting kids away from other high schools. There are dozens if not hundreds of prep schools doing this, too. Just look at any D-I recruit's Twitter follows and you'll find multiple prep coaches and program accounts following him. Until there's some kind of rules around this system, it just feels predatory to me.

[Pistol]

11 minutes ago, wgstl said:

I don't know enough about this Prep school, but was Chaminade going to have a national schedule next season?  If not, and this prep school does, that would make sense to me.

Not really. Chaminade will travel for a handful of events but they don't play a "national" schedule like IMG or Oak Hill or whatever.

I still think that a school that has put out Beal and Tatum in the past decade in addition to a bunch of other college players isn't hurting anyone's exposure, though. Especially not a guy who just finished an official visit to Michigan State, where he's being prioritized. I'm not sure what else he wants.

[wgstl]

6 minutes ago, Pistol said:

Not really. Chaminade will travel for a handful of events but they don't play a "national" schedule like IMG or Oak Hill or whatever.

I still think that a school that has put out Beal and Tatum in the past decade in addition to a bunch of other college players isn't hurting anyone's exposure, though. Especially not a guy who just finished an official visit to Michigan State, where he's being prioritized. I'm not sure what else he wants.

I wasn't sure if they had a schedule like Webster did for CG and Courtney's senior year.

I think the end game here is that he wants to play better comp to help better his career, and this would be the better route.  Brad and JT were top 5 recruits, Reed while very good, has a way too go to get to that level. I can see this move, but also agree that its not a major step up. 

[Pistol]

I guess the last point I'll make for now is Chaminade has a recent example of this going badly, and he actually went to a good school. Karrington Davis was on the rise, left Chaminade for Montverde, where he trained plenty but rode the bench, and his profile plateaued or arguably dipped. He went to Nebraska (his best offer, and one he had before Montverde), tore his Achilles and redshirted, transferred to SIUC and played sparingly, played last season at Butler CC in Kansas, and is now going to Lindenwood.

No disrespect to Lindenwood whatsoever and fluke injuries happen, but I think if you told him four years ago he'd be entering his fourth year of college having only played one year of D-I ball, he'd be disappointed. He was a top-150 recruit at one time while at Chaminade.

[Cowboy]

-those folks at Link Year have some sales skills

 

[Coach314]

45 minutes ago, wgstl said:

I don't know enough about this Prep school, but was Chaminade going to have a national schedule next season?  If not, and this prep school does, that would make sense to me.

Yeah.  He gets to play with high major talent on his roster.  Against other High Major D1 talent.  More games.  More exposure.  

[ACE]

32 minutes ago, Pistol said:

That's right, couldn't remember who shared. Here's his summary for anyone curious:

Link Year was originally a prep school only. It's a very good program and run extremely well. We are sending 3 guys there all 6'7 wings Jalen Hampton, Omar Henry, and Jackson Skipper. It's known to develop kids, have a great strength program, and send nearly their entire roster to the D1 level. Now they have a HS team called Link Academy. Based on what I know, donations from Nike, and the people behind it I'd expect it to reach levels similar to IMG Academy, Montverde, Oak Hill, etc... it will be a powerhouse. Their HS team will have a starting lineup of all 4 and 5 star kids to give you an idea. They will be releasing rosters soon. 

I want the school - and I mean school, not just basketball program - to be as legit as possible. Doesn't change how bitter I am at the moment, though. Nor does it change how the place comes across online, which is to say it looks like a basketball factory from the outside.

The problem I have with the prep school thing is that "prep school" can mean anything. It can mean absolutely legit, well established schools with great academics like Oak Hill and La Lumiere, or it can mean sports-focused training academies that also have strong college prep school programs like IMG, or it can mean charter schools set up solely to house a basketball program where players take easy online courses in their spare time and stay in low-rent apartments near a gym the team uses for practice. Willie Reed left Bishop Miege for one of these shady places. With huge variances from state to state and little to no oversight, the climate is ripe for unscrupulous actors to take advantage of aspiring players (international players being the most vulnerable) and pull some tax-free money out in the process.

I don't know where LYP stands on this spectrum or where it'll end up. It seems to have some serious backers behind it and could indeed be a more established player in the end. What isn't in question is how hard they're recruiting kids away from other high schools. There are dozens if not hundreds of prep schools doing this, too. Just look at any D-I recruit's Twitter follows and you'll find multiple prep coaches and program accounts following him. Until there's some kind of rules around this system, it just feels predatory to me.

My question is what do the "backers" get out of it? What's the point of a basketball factory? 

[brianstl]

The only way going from Chaminade to Link makes sense for Reed is if he is strongly considering skipping college completely.  Then I think it makes some sense.  

[brianstl]

12 minutes ago, ACE said:

My question is what do the "backers" get out of it? What's the point of a basketball factory? 

Shoe companies pouring money into the school.

[slu72]

I thought he committed to Purdue? 

[Littlebill]

1 hour ago, Pistol said:

Not really. Chaminade will travel for a handful of events but they don't play a "national" schedule like IMG or Oak Hill or whatever.

I still think that a school that has put out Beal and Tatum in the past decade in addition to a bunch of other college players isn't hurting anyone's exposure, though. Especially not a guy who just finished an official visit to Michigan State, where he's being prioritized. I'm not sure what else he wants.

Yeah, in my mind, I already wasn't bullish at all about our chances but this makes it to where we are a non-starter. He wants to play for as big of a name as possible.

[BilliesBy40]

1 hour ago, Pistol said:

I guess the last point I'll make for now is Chaminade has a recent example of this going badly, and he actually went to a good school. Karrington Davis was on the rise, left Chaminade for Montverde, where he trained plenty but rode the bench, and his profile plateaued or arguably dipped. He went to Nebraska (his best offer, and one he had before Montverde), tore his Achilles and redshirted, transferred to SIUC and played sparingly, played last season at Butler CC in Kansas, and is now going to Lindenwood.

No disrespect to Lindenwood whatsoever and fluke injuries happen, but I think if you told him four years ago he'd be entering his fourth year of college having only played one year of D-I ball, he'd be disappointed. He was a top-150 recruit at one time while at Chaminade.

Most of your point with Davis had nothing to do with his transfer though. Say what you will about these prep schools, but Reed will get more exposure from his year at Link. He also will be in a basketball program more closely resembling what he will see in college, which could be beneficial. As has been noted before, Link will likely rise to the Oak Hill-type level pretty quickly.