Recruiting - 2013

[DirtyRican]

Just saw Strawberry is in town and at a hotel. I know his dad is here but could he be in town to sign his LOI?

[NH]

Just saw Strawberry is in town and at a hotel. I know his dad is here but could he be in town to sign his LOI?

I hope not

[NH]

nm

[Littlebill]

I hope not

Could he be a backup plan if we don't get Randy O? He looks like he could be a very good facilitator at this level.

[wgstl]

I do think he will sign. Iv never seen a recruit so excited for a visit. But yes it sucks.

Just saw Strawberry is in town and at a hotel. I know his dad is here but could he be in town to sign his LOI?

[RiseAndGrind]

I do think he will sign. Iv never seen a recruit so excited for a visit. But yes it sucks.

I agree. Hold the scholarship for that 5* we have waiting to sign.

[wgstl]

austin just tweeted "out with the recruits" about 20 minutes ago. Does he mean recruit(s) if so who else?

[wgstl]

I agree. Hold the scholarship for that 5* we have waiting to sign.

if that 5* happens to be big ole randy then yea, keep it open. you dont want a recruit to feel they will have to fight for a spot. (against kids his age)

[RiseAndGrind]

if that 5* happens to be big ole randy then yea, keep it open. you dont want a recruit to feel they will have to fight for a spot. (against kids his age)

I guess we just disagree. Onwuasor had his chance. I'd love him, but he may have lost his chance.

Also, thanks for the heads up on McBroom. His Twitter lead me to his Vine videos, which are awesome. For example:

https://vine.co/v/bF0tFP0i6pt

[wgstl]

I guess we just disagree. Onwuasor had his chance. I'd love him, but he may have lost his chance.

Also, thanks for the heads up on McBroom. His Twitter lead me to his Vine videos, which are awesome. For example:

https://vine.co/v/bF0tFP0i6pt

lol that asian dude wanted out

[NH]

Could he be a backup plan if we don't get Randy O? He looks like he could be a very good facilitator at this level.

Then why has he received such little interest from other D1 schools? He is the son of an MLB all-star who played high school ball at a very well-known high school with other D1 players. That doesn't scream 'under-the-radar' to me.

[Littlebill]

Then why has he received such little interest from other D1 schools? He is the son of an MLB all-star who played high school ball at a very well-known high school with other D1 players. That doesn't scream 'under-the-radar' to me.

I was just thinking he wasnt really getting looked at because he was a pass-first, and pass-second PG (from the little I've seen). Would I rather have Randy? Of course. I wouldn't be pissed if we got Strawberry though. It would have made much more sense to get a facilitator two years ago and not this year, though. We need to build back up again using what little is left after this class leaves. Agbeko and MC are a great start to do this, but we have to finish this class out. I think any of these guys we're recruiting would be a great fit, IMO, with the exception of Jolly.

[HusakAttack]

I was just thinking he wasnt really getting looked at because he was a pass-first, and pass-second PG (from the little I've seen). Would I rather have Randy? Of course. I wouldn't be pissed if we got Strawberry though. It would have made much more sense to get a facilitator two years ago and not this year, though. We need to build back up again using what little is left after this class leaves. Agbeko and MC are a great start to do this, but we have to finish this class out. I think any of these guys we're recruiting would be a great fit, IMO, with the exception of Jolly.

Give me Jolly!! We want Jolly!!!

[Pistol]

Randy Onwuasor update:

-A quick Google search of his name now has this as the first entry, an interview from 10 days ago: http://teamnigeriabasketball.com/tnb-interview-randy-onwuasor/ - Some key quotes (I know some of these have been quoted already):

TNB: Going into College, can you give us a breakdown of the teams that are currently on your radar?
Randy Onwuasor: St.Louis, Florida State, Seton Hall, Arkansas, UNLV and Tulane

Randy Onwuasor: I am more comfortable at point guard because its more so natural to me.

Randy Onwuasor: I am trying to work more on my mid-range game, I think I have to improve that the most.

-Has only tweeted once since this retweet on 4/17: Lance Feldmann ‏@fer_de_LANCE11 17 Apr

@sp_curran just got a rt from randy onwuasor the soon to be star of the #STL #BILLIKENS

[Pistol]

Hakim Saintil update:

-His Sports U/Team Izod team won the 64-team Hoop Group Pitt Jam Fest this weekend. Saintil scored 5 points in the last 10 seconds to seal the win against the DC Assault team: http://njhoops.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1498012 - He hit a clutch 3 to tie it and then had a steal and layup to finish it. His team was down 3 with a minute to go.

[Pistol]

Daishon Knight update:

-His last batch of retweets came after the Murray State visit. Now he's retweeting a bunch of Illinois State fan tweets. Even retweeted some back-and-forth between the two sets of fans. He seemed to enjoy the visit:

Daishon Knight ‏@DaishonKnight 20 Apr

Illinois.St poppin, I ain't going to Lie

-My 3 favorite retweets:

Briαnα Rεyεs♛ ‏@BriiiReyes 19 Apr

@DaishonKnight come to Illinois state baby, it'll be worth it i promise. My whole sorority wants you

Will Beck ‏@_WillBeck 20 Apr

@DaishonKnight if you come to Illinois State i can personally guarantee you your 72 virgins and more if you want them. #RedbirdNation

Nicki Vitro ‏@nicki_vitro 19 Apr

@DaishonKnight ill show you my **** come to ISU ;-) enjoy your visit

[Pistol]

Ibrahim Djambo update:

-Everything I see just reinforces that 4/30 is decision day and there is no frontrunner. This is from a South Carolina newspaper this past Friday: http://www.theitem.com/sports/ap_sports/usc-visit-impresses-goose-creek-product/article_f18bf8e2-f66c-53af-a734-f6fbb49a7f3b.html

"Basketball News: Ibrahim Djambo, a 6-foot-10-inch player from Mali, made his official visit to Clemson over the weekend. He did not commit. Djambo, who attends a junior college in Missouri, also has visited Loyola Chicago and SIU Carbondale. He said he will visit Saint Louis and Southern Mississippi before making his decision, which he will announce on April 30. He does not have a favorite. He averaged 18 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots per game this season."

-Djambo only has 5 tweets on his account, and the last one was on the 18th, when he retweeted this article: http://www.orangeandwhite.com/news/2013/apr/09/big-men-sidy-mohamed-djitti-ibrahim-djambo-visitin/ - The relevant bits:

The Tigers will also get a visit from Ibrahim Djambo, a 6-10, 205-pound forward from Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

Both players are African: Djitte from Senegal and Djambo from Mali, and both have been in the United States for two years.

Djambo averaged 18 points and 9.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore at Three Rivers. He is a 76 percent free throw shooter, and made 36 percent of his three-point attempts.

Djambo also has offers from Kansas State, Saint Louis, Loyola Chicago, Southern Illinois and Washington State.

[Billiken Rich]

72 virgins AND ****?????

I fear that It's Biondi that's holding back our recruiting efforts AGAIN.

[Littlebill]

If I remember correctly, Saintil was rumored to go to prep school. Anything new on that?

[Pistol]

I'll keep updating this until we fill those last two spots:

Offers:

-Hakim Saintil, PG: 5-11, 170, Roselle Catholic HS, Roselle, NJ. Offers: SLU and Fairfield. Possible offers: Rhode Island, South Carolina, Cincinnati, and SMU.

-Jordan Strawberry, PG: 6-1, 170, Mater Dei HS, Santa Ana, CA. Offers: SLU, UC-Riverside, and at least 2 others.

-Daishon Knight, PG-SG: 6-1, 170, Odessa CC, Odessa, TX. Offers: SLU, Murray State, Illinois State. Possible offers: Creighton, Colorado State.

-Randy Onwuasor, PG-SG: 6-3, 190, Inglewood HS. Offers: SLU, UC-Irvine, Cal-Fullerton, at least 2 others. Interest from Florida State, Seton Hall, Arkansas, UNLV, and Tulane.

-Ibrahim Djambo, C: 6-10, 240, Three Rivers CC, Poplar Bluff, MO. Offers: SLU, Austin Peay, Clemson, Detroit, Illinois State, Kansas State, Loyola-Chicago, Morehead State, SEMO, SIUC, Southern Miss, and Washington State.

Others:

-Achraf Yacoubou, SG: 6-4, 210, Villanova. Interest from SLU and Pitt

-Brett Jolly, PF-C: 6-10, Carroll HS, Southlake, TX. Offers: Weber State. Interest from SLU, Belmont, Bucknell, Lehigh, Furman, North Texas, Penn, Tulsa, Sam Houston State, Wichita State.

[ACE]

Daishon Knight update:

-His last batch of retweets came after the Murray State visit. Now he's retweeting a bunch of Illinois State fan tweets. Even retweeted some back-and-forth between the two sets of fans. He seemed to enjoy the visit:

Daishon Knight ‏@DaishonKnight 20 Apr

Illinois.St poppin, I ain't going to Lie

-My 3 favorite retweets:

Briαnα Rεyεs♛ ‏@BriiiReyes 19 Apr

@DaishonKnight come to Illinois state baby, it'll be worth it i promise. My whole sorority wants you

Will Beck ‏@_WillBeck 20 Apr

@DaishonKnight if you come to Illinois State i can personally guarantee you your 72 virgins and more if you want them. #RedbirdNation

Nicki Vitro ‏@nicki_vitro 19 Apr

@DaishonKnight ill show you my **** come to ISU ;-) enjoy your visit

I was looking for info on Agbeko and I stumbled on the Illinois State board. It was hilarious. Some of them went into meltdown mode when RA cancelled his scheduled visit to Illinois State and committed to SLU. Some of them had no idea why he committed to SLU. I thought, get real. You are Illinois State. Know your place.

[Pistol]

Jordan Strawberry update:

-As others have mentioned, he's at SLU now. He's tweeting a lot.

jordan strawberry ‏@jstrawberry_034 50m

Up early to tour the school this morning!

jordan strawberry ‏@jstrawberry_034 9h

My hotel room is super nice out here!

(Recruits now stay at Hotel Ignacio.)

jordan strawberry ‏@jstrawberry_034 9h

Out here with my dude @AustinMcbroom on my official visit to SLU!

You get the idea. He's here and he's enjoying it.

[HusakAttack]

Something must be messed up on twitter that all the sorostitutes at SLU's twitter offers to Jolly aren't coming through. Dudes gonna crush some tail on campus once they see his skills.

We want Jolly!!!!!!!!!

[Pistol]

Nothing new for Jolly or Yacoubou. In fact, there's been virtually nothing on Yacoubou since his transfer was announced, except his name being brought up when another Villanova player announced he was transferring last week. This transfer list says April 4th but has been updating since then:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/22007798/transfer-list-first-edition

[Pistol]

Then why has he received such little interest from other D1 schools? He is the son of an MLB all-star who played high school ball at a very well-known high school with other D1 players. That doesn't scream 'under-the-radar' to me.

I was just thinking he wasnt really getting looked at because he was a pass-first, and pass-second PG (from the little I've seen). Would I rather have Randy? Of course. I wouldn't be pissed if we got Strawberry though. It would have made much more sense to get a facilitator two years ago and not this year, though. We need to build back up again using what little is left after this class leaves. Agbeko and MC are a great start to do this, but we have to finish this class out. I think any of these guys we're recruiting would be a great fit, IMO, with the exception of Jolly.

I'm not sure what to make of Strawberry at this point. You're right- he's been playing varsity for one of the biggest, best programs in the state of California since his sophomore year. They've won 3 state championships with him starting at PG. His dad was a famous MLB player. So why aren't there more offers? The Pac 12 schools were listed as interested his sophomore year, and then all gradually backed off. I like that he's a consistent winner at a very high level, but is he just the right guy for that program, which has always had bigger talent than him on the floor? There are some legit questions there.

Onwuasor's trendline is more positive and his body type suggests he has a higher ceiling. He's my pick for these reasons and the questions surrounding Strawberry. I'd be curious to know where Randy O is in his process right now and what he thinks of SLU.