2017 Horizon League Recruit/Transfer Commitments
Apr 15, 2017 23:22:12 GMT -5
phoenixphan87 likes this
Post by Commissioner on Apr 15, 2017 23:22:12 GMT -5
Here I'll collect 2017 recruit signings by Horizon teams, and update as we learn of more. I've also added here transfers and redshirts who will be eligible next year. I have not included preferred walk-ons.
Cleveland State:
Letter of Intent
Shawn Christian, 5-11 G, Cleveland Garfield Heights. Garfield Heights has turned out a lot of good ballplayers over the year, including former CSU star Trey Lewis. Coach Waters signed Garfield Height's Christian during the early period and Shawn is apparently sticking with the program. With Rob Edwards transferring, the Vikes can use a combo guard who can score, and Christian serendipitiously fits the bill. He is uniformly considered one of the best shooters in the state, and also has a rep as a good defensive player, as do most Waters recruits. Garfield Heights reached the state semi-finals in each of Christian's soph and junior years. Christian averaged 17.9 ppg as a senior, after averaging 13 as a junior. All that said, Christian was not highly recruited, and generally not ranked in the top 40 players in Ohio. He was Honorable Mention on the All-Cleveland Area team this year.
(Added 5/6) Tyree Appleby, 6-1 PG, Jacksonville, Ark. Appleby is a scoring machine--something former coach Gary Walters never seemed to think much about. Appleby, who averaged 25 points per game this past season, can shoot the three, drive the lane, or hit the floater. He was a top 15 player in Arkansas.
Added June 3. Stefan Kenic, 6-9 F, Serbia. CSU lands Serbian forward Stefan Kenic, a starter on their U20 national team. Kenic had offers from San Diego State, Vanderbilt, Illinois, and others--this is an impressive get for Coach Felton.
Update 9/1. Devin Stover, 6-5 SG, Solon, OH. Stover is a late addition to Coach Felton's class, enrolling at CSU the last week in August. He was an all-state honorable mention as a senior at Cleveland's St. Ignatius high, and spent last season at the Naval Academy Prep School. Bucknell and Stony Brook had also offered.
D-I Transfer
Dontel Highsmith, 6-2 G, Northern Illinois. This is an interesting transfer. Highsmith was a Michigan Mr. Basketball finalist after averaging over 29 ppg as a senior. As a freshman at NIU in 2013-14, Highsmith played in 11 games and was averaging 10.5 points and shooting 35% from three, when he tore his ACL and was lost for the rest of the year. He was expected to start in the backcourt the following year but tore his ACL again just before the start of the season, and sat out all of 2015-16 as well. Finally back in action last year, he averaged 24 minutes a game, with 6.9 points, but was clearly not the player he was before the injuries. As a grad transfer, he's immediately eligible for CSU. One question is whether CSU can get him a waiver of the 5 year rule, allowing him to complete a 4th year of play in year six after starting school. I'm not sure if Highsmith can get back to where he was, let alone where he might have gotten to, but he'll provide some depth this year at a minimum.
Update June 30. Al Eichelberger of DePaul is transferring to Cleveland State, following former DePaul Director of Basketball Ops Bryan Tibaldi. Eichelberger was a top recruit in Michigan as a high school freshman but his growth, and progress, stalled out. He's undersized for a P5/Big East power forward, and couldn't develop the outside game to play as a 3. It seems that by his junior year his family, and perhaps Al himself, had difficulty adjusting to the fact that he was no longer a top high-major prospect, but a mid-major player. But he's likely to be a solid Horizon Player in the mode of Jaleel Hogan. Eichelberger appeared in 26 games last year for DePaul as a reserve forward, averaging 1.7 points and 1.3 rebounds per game with eight blocked shots. He shot .762 (16-21) from the field, playing just under eight minutes per game. He'll sit the 2017-18 season and then have three years of eligibility.
Detroit
Letters of Intent:
Jermaine Jackson, Jr., 5-10 PG, Macomb, Mich. A point guard comes to Detroit to play for his father. We've seen that script before, and it worked out pretty well for the Titans when Ray McCallum came to play for Ray McCallum. Now it's Jermaine Jackson coming to play for Jermaine Jackson. Of course, the elder JJ is only the 1st assistant, not the head coach. (He's also a Titan playing legend, as former HL POY on the Titans late 1990s NCAA teams). And the younger Jackson--"Triple J"--is not a top 25 national recruit like the young McCallum was. But he's a very good player, a three-star recruit and a two-time first team All State selection in Michigan's highest class, who had offers from Pac 12, Big 10, Big East, SEC, AAC, and A10 schools. Detroit hasn't had a pure point guard running the show since young McCallum headed to the NBA, and Titan faithful have been anticipating Jackson's arrival literally for years, although at times it seemed he might ditch Dad and Detroit for the wilds of Colorado. The problem may be finding playing time for Triple J plus Detroit's returning combo guards, HL Freshman of the Year Corey Allen and high scoring Josh McFolley, a former HS teammate of Jackson's. None of them are big guards, and to play all three together would leave the Titans' awfully small on the court. Jackson averaged 26 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals last season.
Jack Ballantyne, 6-9 PF, Macomb, Mich. Jackson's Macomb Dakota High teammate inked with Triple J in a joint signing event. Ballantyne averaged 15 points and 13 rebounds for Dakota. He missed a pretty good chunk of his senior year, but he's another solid recruit who had offers from Boston College, Duquesne, and a slew of MAC teams. The Titans have to feel good as Oakland offered both Ballantyne and Jackson as well.
Update 5/14. Corey Mendez, 6-2 G, Niagara CC. Who? I can't find any record of Mendez getting D-I offers out of high school or out of Niagara CC, where he played in the 14-15 and 15-16 seasons. Last year he didn't play. Some scouting reports say he plays good D. He seems to have a nose for the ball, averaging over 6 rebounds in each of his seasons at Niagara CC. It's also obvious from his highlight videos on the web--rarely do you see a highlight video of a 6-2 guard featuring offensive rebounds and putbacks. Still, seems unlikely to be a major part of the Titans. [Update 9/1: Mendez appears not to have qualified.
Update 9/1. The Titans added Tariq Jones, a 6-7 forward from Schoolcraft CC. He had previously committed to Louisiana Monroe but was given a release. He averaged 10.6 points, 5.9 rebounds last season with a very good Schoolcraft team. A solid front court reserve.
D-I Transfer
Roschan Prince, 6-6 F, Long Beach State. Detroit finally gets on the board late on April 17, when Prince, an immediately eligible graduate transfer, announces that he is coming to Detroit. Rivals rated Prince #92 in the Class of 2013. He originally signed with USC, and stayed with his LOI after coach Kevin O'Neill was let go, but then transferred to Long Beach after his freshman year. Last year he averaged 9.4 points and 6.9 rebounds with the 49ers. Frankly, it seems a bit of an odd move--a lateral move to a place far from home (Prince is from Long Beach) to a team that needs big men, not undersized power forwards. But he'll definitely help the Titans.
Green Bay
Green Bay has done some major restocking.
Letters of Intent
Shawn "PJ" Pipes, 6-2 G, Lemont, Ill. An early signee, Pipes averaged 23 points, four assists and three rebounds as a senior, and became the all-time leading scorer at Lemont HS south of Chicago. Pipes had reported offers from Denver, Navy, and a host of D-II schools.
Trevion Bell, 6-5 SF, Joliet, Ill. Another fall signee, Bell chose the Phoenix over Illinois State, UIC, Furman, IUPUI, and SE Missouri.
Will Chevalier, 6-8 PF, Kimberly, WI. Chevalier committed to Green Bay last summer and signed in the early period. He was a 4th team all-state selection in Wisconsin this year after averaging 20 points and 6.2 rebounds.
Sukhjot Banes, 6-6 SG/SF, Northwest (Wyo.) CC. Banes is a juco transfer with two years of eligibility. He averaged 13.4 points and 8 rebounds last season, shooting 45.3 percent. Bains averaged 12.2 points and 8.2 rebounds his freshman season. Remember the Bhullar brothers as the "great Indian hope"? They didn't pan out. We'll see if Banes does.
Paul Turner, 6-5 SG, College of Central Florida. Another juco transfer and early signee, Turner had mulitiple P5 and Big East offers out of high school but didn't qualify. This year he averaged 17.9 ppg. JucoRecruiting ranks him the #96 juco prospect this year. Update 4/18: Turner has not qualified academically and will therefore not be joining UWBG.
Manny Patterson, 6-8 PF, Chicago Kenwood. Patterson verballed to Green Bay in March but doesn't appear to have signed an LOI yet. 247 Sports ranks Patterson a 3 star and ESPN ranks him a 4 star. He's probably not worthy of 4 stars, but he's a very good get for Green Bay, choosing the Phoenix over UIC, Southern Illinois, Toledo, East Tennessee State, and Bowling Green. Prep Hoops rated him #22 in the senior class in Illinois. He's a rim protector and rebounder who gets most of his points on put backs. Patterson was one of Green Bay's top targets from the start and could have an immediate impact in the Horizon.
9/1. Hunter Crist, 6-3 G, Don Bosco Prep, Crown Pointe, IN. Missed most of his senior year with a broken wrist, so played a year at the Prep School, averaging 15.1 points, 6.7 assists and 3.8 rebounds. Had a 3.97 GPA in HS, and accordingly a lot of interest from the Ivies.
D-I Transfers
Sandy Cohen, 6-6 SG, Marquette. I guess Cohen counts in this year's class, although he's been on scholarship since January. Cohen was a midseason transfer from Marquette. As a sophomore, Cohen averaged over 23 minutes per game for Marquette, totaling 5.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. But he played just 19 minutes in Marquette's first three games last fall, then not at all in game 4 against Pitt, and decided to leave. The problem is that playing those 3 games cost him a year eligibility, plus, as a mid-season transfer, he won't be eligible until mid-December. The plan is for Cohen to seek an extra year's eligibility from the NCAA--and if Chris Jenkins didn't get it, Cohen sure shouldn't. If he gets it, he'll hit the floor in December, with one and a half years to play for Green Bay. If not, he'll sit out the full year and play his final season in 2018-19.
Cody Schwarz, 6-8 F, San Jose State. Recruited by Brian Wardle in high school, Schwarz instead went to the west coast. After a solid freshman year (7 points, 2.7 rebounds in 24 minutes per game) Cohen saw both his playing time and stats cut in half last year. He'll sit out the coming year and have two years of eligibility.
UIC
Letter of Intent
Greg Eboigboden, 6-9 F/C, UD-Jesuit. Coach McLain didn't have many vacant roster spots, but he signed a good one in Greg E., once a top Ray McCallum target. Whatever else can be said about Ray and his staff, they had a very good eye for talent. I think most scouts thought that Greg's teammate, classmate, and countryman, Ike Eke, was the better of the two. Many schools targeted both; some of the high majors targeted only Eke. The Titans targeted Greg E., never offering Eke. And though Eke signed with Marquette in the fall, Greg E. had a better senior year, was ahead of Eke on the All-State teams, and seems to have passed him as a player. Too bad we couldn't get him. I think he'll be very good for UIC, along the lines of their current center, Tai Odiase.
Shocker Update, 4/17: Eboigboden has asked for and been granted his release from LOI. Big loss for UIC, me thinks.
Update, 6/12: Eboigboden signed with Illinois. Big loss for UIC and Horizon.
Update 5/26. Ralph Bissainthe, 6-7 F, Hollywood, FL. McLain is filling in for the transfers out. A lot of schools looked at Bissainthe, including some A10 and Mountain West schools, but few or none offered. Couldn't find much about him. He was honorable mention all-Broward County this year. Frankly, that doesn't sound too impressive.
Verbal
Michael Diggins, 6-7 F, Las Vegas. McLain digs up a replacement for Eboigboden. Montana, Hawaii and Denver were some of the schools that had shown interest in Diggins.
Update 5/14. Jacob Wiley, 6-7 F/G, Houston. Wiley was a top 20 player in Texas--at least according to some rankings, but others didn't even have him in the top 50 in the state. So we'll have to see. We'll also have to see how he plays--he's generally listed as a small forward, but sometimes as a guard, and sometimes described as a post. Apparently, he's wiley. Heh.
Milwaukee
Update, 6/25. Milwaukee got hit again today when star recruit Dylan Alderson announced, in the wake of the coaching change, that he would be playing next year for Toledo. UWM held off granting LOI releases until a new coach had been hired and had a chance to meet with signees. But apparently Baldwin couldn't hold Alderson. Also, Caleb Nero has reopened his recruitment.
Letters of Intent
Dylan Alderson, 6-5 SG, Clarkston. Lavell Jordan used his Michigan recruiting background to land Alderson, a big shooting guard who should be an effective HL player. Alderson was a Class A first team All-State selection for the Detroit News, Bankhoops, and Prep Hoops after averaging 23.9 ppg for the state champions this year. He signed in the early period in November. Update. Asked to released after the coaching change and signed with Toledo.
Carson Newsome, 6-5 SG, Waukegon, Wis. Carson Newman, another early signee, could battle Alderson for PT. Newsome was Jordan's first commit, giving a verbal commit in July of 2016, and passing on A10 members St. Louis and Duquesne. Newsome averaged 19 points and 5.3 rebounds this year.
Verbal-Not Yet Signed
Caleb Nero, 6-2 SG, Tulsa. Nero gave his verbal to Milwaukee this weekend, and presumably will sign shortly. Nero averaged 24.8 points, 4.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds to help lead Tulsa Memorial to the Class 5A state title this year. Update Asked to be released after the coaching change. Appears will play a year of prep ball.
Vance Johnson, 6-9 PF, Northeast CC. Johnson verbals to Milwaukee on Easter. Other Johnson suitors included MVC teams Evansville and Bradley and New Mexico State. Johnson averaged 13.8 points and 9 rebounds for 21-8 Northeast CC this year.
Northern Kentucky
Letter of Intent
Chris Vogt, 7-0 C, Graves County, Kentucky. It should always raise some excitement when a seven footer signs with a Horizon team. It's almost redundant to say such signees will be raw, but that's still a lot of size in this league. Ranked the #11 prospect in Kentucky by Prep Hoops, Vogt had offers from a number of MVC and MAC teams, CUSA Champ Middle Tennessee State, WAC power New Mexico State, traditionally strong mid-major Western Kentucky, and Tulsa of the American Conference. Vogt is scary thin--Verbal Commits list him at 215 lbs., but other sources list him as low as 180. Vogt averaged 16.8 points and 9.2 rebounds this year despite being slowed by a foot injury, and 17 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.8 blocks as a junior. He finished second all-time in Kentucky for career blocked shots.
Update: Paul Djoko, 6-4 G, France. A member of France's U18 team. Don't know much about him.
Oakland
Letter of Intent
James Beck, 6-7 F, Grand Rapids Christian. Until somebody is not invited back, OU appears to have just 1 scholarship available, and used it last fall on Beck (The rumor is that forward Isaiah Brock will not be on athletic scholarship next year, but use GI Bill benefits. Generally, a recruited athlete, which Brock is, cannot receive other aid from the school. However, the GI bill may not count on that since the aid goes directly to the student). I thought it was a good signing at the time and took some bitter pride when a number of articles appearing during the state tournament noting some surprise at just how good Beck is. Part of him being overlooked was playing in the shadow of Xavier Tillman. Beck can contribute immediately and should take over Jalen Hayes's spot in the starting lineup as a sophomore.
Stanley Scott, 6-4 SG, Williamsburg, Pa. Scott gave OU a verbal a couple months ago, but he apparently has not signed an LOI and I'm not sure if they've got room for him until someone leaves or is not renewed (see above). Scott's a good player, though--he was second team all-state in Pennsylvania's 6A Class after averaging 20.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and three steals per game.
Julius Palmer, 6-9 C, McLellan CC (Tx). Originally out of Detroit Western, Palmer averaged 7 points and 5 rebounds at McLellan, while shooting 73%. Not likely to be a starter, but should play off the bench.
Transfer
Update, 8/23. Kamari Newman, 6-4 G, George Mason. A Mr. Basketball finalist in 2016, Newman averaged 4.7 ppg at GMU last year. He actually played pretty well, but just got caught in a crunch of a team with too many guards, and decided to transfer. He's a good three point shooter and should fit in well with Coach Kampe's style of play. He'll sit the 2018 season and then have 3 years left.
Wright State
Letters of Intent
Tyler Mitchell, 6-0 PG, King's Mill, Ohio. An early signee, the lightly recruited Mitchell averaged 14.7 points, 4.3 assists, and three rebounds as a junior, and 11 points and 3 assists during an injury plagued senior year.
Jaylon Hall, 6-6 SG, Louisville (Doss). Hall averaged 19 points, 4.0 rebounds., 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting over 50%, and was regional POY and a nominee for Kentucky Mr. Basketball this year. A two star recruit, scouts say Hall is a "raw" player still learning the game. His only other reported offer came from Youngstown State.
Added 4/25. James Manns, 6-7 SF, Columbus, Oh. Manns committed to HIgh Point out of high school, but ended up spending this last year at Kingston Academy, a new prep program in Columbus. I presume he failed to qualify at that time. He averaged 18 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 blocks as a high school senior, and 16 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist at the prep school.
D-I Transfers
Billy Wampler, 6-6 F, Drake. Wampler averaged 9.6 points and 2.5 rebounds in 22 per game last year at Drake. Wampler was highly recruited by mid-majors out of high school, including a couple of A10 offers (Richmond, La Salle), low P5 schools (Auburn), and Creighton. Over one 7 game stretch last December he averaged 19.6 ppg, including a 23 point, 7 rebound game against Iowa State. He'll sit 2017-18, then have two years of eligibility.
Cole Gentry, 5-10 G, South Dakota State. Gentry was a Scott Nagy recruit to SD State, before Nagy moved to WSU. He didn't immediately follow Nagy but was a midseason transfer and will become eligible when the semester ends in December. He averaged 16 minutes and 3.3. ppg last year before transferring. He already used a red-shirt year at SD State, so absent an NCAA waiver he'll have just 2.5 seasons with the Raiders.
Youngstown State
Youngstown's new coach, Jerrod Calhoun, has already added a couple of verbal commits, but no announcement of LOI's being signed yet. Presumably they'll sign in the next few days. Neither player has much of a recruiting trail. (Update: Obviously several have signed since this was first posted, and that's reflected below). They are:
Letters of Intent
Jacob Brown, 6-9 PF, Clemons, NC. Calhoun offered him at Fairmont State before taking the YSU job. Brown is said to move his feet well and have good instincts, but he needs to add weight and muscle. He would be a good candidate to redshirt.
Added 4/18. Naz Bohannon, 6-5 SF, Lorain, Oh. Two sport star Bohannon turned down football offers from Michigan State, Pitt, Cincinnati, and others to play mid-major hoops. Wny? Bohannon has a 3.93 HS GPA and wants to major in Engineering, where YSU has a pretty good program. Frankly, I'm surprised Akron wasn't all over him. This is a nice recruit for Calhoun, a first-team AP All-Ohio player who had offers from, among others, New Mexico State, Indiana State, and nearby Kent State. Last season he averaged 17.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
Garrett Covington, 6-5 SF, Carmel, Ind (Don Boscoe Prep). Covington visited YSU this weekend and committed while there. (Signed LOI 4/20)
Added 4/25 Michael Akuchie, 6-7 F, Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. Calhoun has hit the ground running, to be sure. Akuchie had a number of low mid-major offers after averaging 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals per game last season, and also carries a 4.2 GPA. Of his official visit to YSU, he reported: “I had lobster bisque at a restaurant on my visit, which was amazing." Lobster bisque? It's fair to say this ain't your father's Youngstown!
Verbal-No LOI
Added 5/5. Deaundra Murphy, 6-4 SG, St. Joseph's, WV. Calhoun strikes again. Murphy was the leading scorer in the state of West Virginia last year, averaging over 28 ppg. Like Brown, Akuchie, and Covington, Murphy didn't have a lot of D-I action in his recruiting. But these are guys Calhoun knew, and he's gotten them to move to YSU. He's active, he's filling the gaps. Bohannon is a quality recruit. It's a great start for YSU and whether or not these guys can cut it, I suspect that Calhoun will begin getting more highly sought after recruits when he has a full recruiting season to work with. It's neat to seat YSU fans actually talking basketball, not just football.
Added 5/9. Noe Anabir, 6-8 PF, Mesa CC. Anabir averaged 9pts and 5 reb per game at Mesa last year.
Added 5/10. Alex Wilbourn, 6-11 C, San Diego City College. Wilbourn joins YSU after two nearly identical seasons at San Diego CC. For the two seasons, he averaged 8.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1 block, with slightly better numbers as a freshman. That's 7 players added in a month for Calhoun.
Added 5/15. Tyree Robinson, 6-6 F, Odessa CC. Coach Calhoun strikes again, and its a good one. 6-5 F Tyree Robinson, a Massachusetts "Dream Team" selection in high school who spent the last two seasons at juco power Odessa CC. This year he averaged 12.8 points in just over 15 minutes per game, so he can score. He also cornered over 7 rebounds per game. Again, in just 15 minutes per game. He was an all-conference selection and ranked as the #34 juco prospect in the country by Juco Recruiting. Back in high school, the two-time first-team all stater averaged 25.7 points, 13 rebounds, and 5.5 blocks as a senior. Robinson signed with New Mexico State last fall but requested and got a release when the Aggies changed coaches. YSU doesn't ordinarily get players of this caliber.
D-I Transfers
Added 4/26. Devin Morgan, 5-10 G, Delaware State. Delaware State plays in the MEAC, perpetually one of the two or three worst conferences in the nation (often the worst), so the talent level isn't too high. Nonetheless, Morgan has already scored 833 career points, averaging 12.0 as a freshman and 14.4 as a soph. Calhoun had offered him at Fairmont State when he came out of high school, but Morgan had several low D-I offers and chose that route. But he must have thought well of Calhoun. He's an excellent free throw shooter (89%) and a good three point shooter (36%). He'll sit a year as a transfer, and then presumably be lined up to take over for Francisco Santiago.
Cleveland State:
Letter of Intent
Shawn Christian, 5-11 G, Cleveland Garfield Heights. Garfield Heights has turned out a lot of good ballplayers over the year, including former CSU star Trey Lewis. Coach Waters signed Garfield Height's Christian during the early period and Shawn is apparently sticking with the program. With Rob Edwards transferring, the Vikes can use a combo guard who can score, and Christian serendipitiously fits the bill. He is uniformly considered one of the best shooters in the state, and also has a rep as a good defensive player, as do most Waters recruits. Garfield Heights reached the state semi-finals in each of Christian's soph and junior years. Christian averaged 17.9 ppg as a senior, after averaging 13 as a junior. All that said, Christian was not highly recruited, and generally not ranked in the top 40 players in Ohio. He was Honorable Mention on the All-Cleveland Area team this year.
(Added 5/6) Tyree Appleby, 6-1 PG, Jacksonville, Ark. Appleby is a scoring machine--something former coach Gary Walters never seemed to think much about. Appleby, who averaged 25 points per game this past season, can shoot the three, drive the lane, or hit the floater. He was a top 15 player in Arkansas.
Added June 3. Stefan Kenic, 6-9 F, Serbia. CSU lands Serbian forward Stefan Kenic, a starter on their U20 national team. Kenic had offers from San Diego State, Vanderbilt, Illinois, and others--this is an impressive get for Coach Felton.
Update 9/1. Devin Stover, 6-5 SG, Solon, OH. Stover is a late addition to Coach Felton's class, enrolling at CSU the last week in August. He was an all-state honorable mention as a senior at Cleveland's St. Ignatius high, and spent last season at the Naval Academy Prep School. Bucknell and Stony Brook had also offered.
D-I Transfer
Dontel Highsmith, 6-2 G, Northern Illinois. This is an interesting transfer. Highsmith was a Michigan Mr. Basketball finalist after averaging over 29 ppg as a senior. As a freshman at NIU in 2013-14, Highsmith played in 11 games and was averaging 10.5 points and shooting 35% from three, when he tore his ACL and was lost for the rest of the year. He was expected to start in the backcourt the following year but tore his ACL again just before the start of the season, and sat out all of 2015-16 as well. Finally back in action last year, he averaged 24 minutes a game, with 6.9 points, but was clearly not the player he was before the injuries. As a grad transfer, he's immediately eligible for CSU. One question is whether CSU can get him a waiver of the 5 year rule, allowing him to complete a 4th year of play in year six after starting school. I'm not sure if Highsmith can get back to where he was, let alone where he might have gotten to, but he'll provide some depth this year at a minimum.
Update June 30. Al Eichelberger of DePaul is transferring to Cleveland State, following former DePaul Director of Basketball Ops Bryan Tibaldi. Eichelberger was a top recruit in Michigan as a high school freshman but his growth, and progress, stalled out. He's undersized for a P5/Big East power forward, and couldn't develop the outside game to play as a 3. It seems that by his junior year his family, and perhaps Al himself, had difficulty adjusting to the fact that he was no longer a top high-major prospect, but a mid-major player. But he's likely to be a solid Horizon Player in the mode of Jaleel Hogan. Eichelberger appeared in 26 games last year for DePaul as a reserve forward, averaging 1.7 points and 1.3 rebounds per game with eight blocked shots. He shot .762 (16-21) from the field, playing just under eight minutes per game. He'll sit the 2017-18 season and then have three years of eligibility.
Detroit
Letters of Intent:
Jermaine Jackson, Jr., 5-10 PG, Macomb, Mich. A point guard comes to Detroit to play for his father. We've seen that script before, and it worked out pretty well for the Titans when Ray McCallum came to play for Ray McCallum. Now it's Jermaine Jackson coming to play for Jermaine Jackson. Of course, the elder JJ is only the 1st assistant, not the head coach. (He's also a Titan playing legend, as former HL POY on the Titans late 1990s NCAA teams). And the younger Jackson--"Triple J"--is not a top 25 national recruit like the young McCallum was. But he's a very good player, a three-star recruit and a two-time first team All State selection in Michigan's highest class, who had offers from Pac 12, Big 10, Big East, SEC, AAC, and A10 schools. Detroit hasn't had a pure point guard running the show since young McCallum headed to the NBA, and Titan faithful have been anticipating Jackson's arrival literally for years, although at times it seemed he might ditch Dad and Detroit for the wilds of Colorado. The problem may be finding playing time for Triple J plus Detroit's returning combo guards, HL Freshman of the Year Corey Allen and high scoring Josh McFolley, a former HS teammate of Jackson's. None of them are big guards, and to play all three together would leave the Titans' awfully small on the court. Jackson averaged 26 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals last season.
Jack Ballantyne, 6-9 PF, Macomb, Mich. Jackson's Macomb Dakota High teammate inked with Triple J in a joint signing event. Ballantyne averaged 15 points and 13 rebounds for Dakota. He missed a pretty good chunk of his senior year, but he's another solid recruit who had offers from Boston College, Duquesne, and a slew of MAC teams. The Titans have to feel good as Oakland offered both Ballantyne and Jackson as well.
Update 5/14. Corey Mendez, 6-2 G, Niagara CC. Who? I can't find any record of Mendez getting D-I offers out of high school or out of Niagara CC, where he played in the 14-15 and 15-16 seasons. Last year he didn't play. Some scouting reports say he plays good D. He seems to have a nose for the ball, averaging over 6 rebounds in each of his seasons at Niagara CC. It's also obvious from his highlight videos on the web--rarely do you see a highlight video of a 6-2 guard featuring offensive rebounds and putbacks. Still, seems unlikely to be a major part of the Titans. [Update 9/1: Mendez appears not to have qualified.
Update 9/1. The Titans added Tariq Jones, a 6-7 forward from Schoolcraft CC. He had previously committed to Louisiana Monroe but was given a release. He averaged 10.6 points, 5.9 rebounds last season with a very good Schoolcraft team. A solid front court reserve.
D-I Transfer
Roschan Prince, 6-6 F, Long Beach State. Detroit finally gets on the board late on April 17, when Prince, an immediately eligible graduate transfer, announces that he is coming to Detroit. Rivals rated Prince #92 in the Class of 2013. He originally signed with USC, and stayed with his LOI after coach Kevin O'Neill was let go, but then transferred to Long Beach after his freshman year. Last year he averaged 9.4 points and 6.9 rebounds with the 49ers. Frankly, it seems a bit of an odd move--a lateral move to a place far from home (Prince is from Long Beach) to a team that needs big men, not undersized power forwards. But he'll definitely help the Titans.
Green Bay
Green Bay has done some major restocking.
Letters of Intent
Shawn "PJ" Pipes, 6-2 G, Lemont, Ill. An early signee, Pipes averaged 23 points, four assists and three rebounds as a senior, and became the all-time leading scorer at Lemont HS south of Chicago. Pipes had reported offers from Denver, Navy, and a host of D-II schools.
Trevion Bell, 6-5 SF, Joliet, Ill. Another fall signee, Bell chose the Phoenix over Illinois State, UIC, Furman, IUPUI, and SE Missouri.
Will Chevalier, 6-8 PF, Kimberly, WI. Chevalier committed to Green Bay last summer and signed in the early period. He was a 4th team all-state selection in Wisconsin this year after averaging 20 points and 6.2 rebounds.
Sukhjot Banes, 6-6 SG/SF, Northwest (Wyo.) CC. Banes is a juco transfer with two years of eligibility. He averaged 13.4 points and 8 rebounds last season, shooting 45.3 percent. Bains averaged 12.2 points and 8.2 rebounds his freshman season. Remember the Bhullar brothers as the "great Indian hope"? They didn't pan out. We'll see if Banes does.
Paul Turner, 6-5 SG, College of Central Florida. Another juco transfer and early signee, Turner had mulitiple P5 and Big East offers out of high school but didn't qualify. This year he averaged 17.9 ppg. JucoRecruiting ranks him the #96 juco prospect this year. Update 4/18: Turner has not qualified academically and will therefore not be joining UWBG.
Manny Patterson, 6-8 PF, Chicago Kenwood. Patterson verballed to Green Bay in March but doesn't appear to have signed an LOI yet. 247 Sports ranks Patterson a 3 star and ESPN ranks him a 4 star. He's probably not worthy of 4 stars, but he's a very good get for Green Bay, choosing the Phoenix over UIC, Southern Illinois, Toledo, East Tennessee State, and Bowling Green. Prep Hoops rated him #22 in the senior class in Illinois. He's a rim protector and rebounder who gets most of his points on put backs. Patterson was one of Green Bay's top targets from the start and could have an immediate impact in the Horizon.
9/1. Hunter Crist, 6-3 G, Don Bosco Prep, Crown Pointe, IN. Missed most of his senior year with a broken wrist, so played a year at the Prep School, averaging 15.1 points, 6.7 assists and 3.8 rebounds. Had a 3.97 GPA in HS, and accordingly a lot of interest from the Ivies.
D-I Transfers
Sandy Cohen, 6-6 SG, Marquette. I guess Cohen counts in this year's class, although he's been on scholarship since January. Cohen was a midseason transfer from Marquette. As a sophomore, Cohen averaged over 23 minutes per game for Marquette, totaling 5.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. But he played just 19 minutes in Marquette's first three games last fall, then not at all in game 4 against Pitt, and decided to leave. The problem is that playing those 3 games cost him a year eligibility, plus, as a mid-season transfer, he won't be eligible until mid-December. The plan is for Cohen to seek an extra year's eligibility from the NCAA--and if Chris Jenkins didn't get it, Cohen sure shouldn't. If he gets it, he'll hit the floor in December, with one and a half years to play for Green Bay. If not, he'll sit out the full year and play his final season in 2018-19.
Cody Schwarz, 6-8 F, San Jose State. Recruited by Brian Wardle in high school, Schwarz instead went to the west coast. After a solid freshman year (7 points, 2.7 rebounds in 24 minutes per game) Cohen saw both his playing time and stats cut in half last year. He'll sit out the coming year and have two years of eligibility.
UIC
Letter of Intent
Greg Eboigboden, 6-9 F/C, UD-Jesuit. Coach McLain didn't have many vacant roster spots, but he signed a good one in Greg E., once a top Ray McCallum target. Whatever else can be said about Ray and his staff, they had a very good eye for talent. I think most scouts thought that Greg's teammate, classmate, and countryman, Ike Eke, was the better of the two. Many schools targeted both; some of the high majors targeted only Eke. The Titans targeted Greg E., never offering Eke. And though Eke signed with Marquette in the fall, Greg E. had a better senior year, was ahead of Eke on the All-State teams, and seems to have passed him as a player. Too bad we couldn't get him. I think he'll be very good for UIC, along the lines of their current center, Tai Odiase.
Shocker Update, 4/17: Eboigboden has asked for and been granted his release from LOI. Big loss for UIC, me thinks.
Update, 6/12: Eboigboden signed with Illinois. Big loss for UIC and Horizon.
Update 5/26. Ralph Bissainthe, 6-7 F, Hollywood, FL. McLain is filling in for the transfers out. A lot of schools looked at Bissainthe, including some A10 and Mountain West schools, but few or none offered. Couldn't find much about him. He was honorable mention all-Broward County this year. Frankly, that doesn't sound too impressive.
Verbal
Michael Diggins, 6-7 F, Las Vegas. McLain digs up a replacement for Eboigboden. Montana, Hawaii and Denver were some of the schools that had shown interest in Diggins.
Update 5/14. Jacob Wiley, 6-7 F/G, Houston. Wiley was a top 20 player in Texas--at least according to some rankings, but others didn't even have him in the top 50 in the state. So we'll have to see. We'll also have to see how he plays--he's generally listed as a small forward, but sometimes as a guard, and sometimes described as a post. Apparently, he's wiley. Heh.
Milwaukee
Update, 6/25. Milwaukee got hit again today when star recruit Dylan Alderson announced, in the wake of the coaching change, that he would be playing next year for Toledo. UWM held off granting LOI releases until a new coach had been hired and had a chance to meet with signees. But apparently Baldwin couldn't hold Alderson. Also, Caleb Nero has reopened his recruitment.
Letters of Intent
Dylan Alderson, 6-5 SG, Clarkston. Lavell Jordan used his Michigan recruiting background to land Alderson, a big shooting guard who should be an effective HL player. Alderson was a Class A first team All-State selection for the Detroit News, Bankhoops, and Prep Hoops after averaging 23.9 ppg for the state champions this year. He signed in the early period in November. Update. Asked to released after the coaching change and signed with Toledo.
Carson Newsome, 6-5 SG, Waukegon, Wis. Carson Newman, another early signee, could battle Alderson for PT. Newsome was Jordan's first commit, giving a verbal commit in July of 2016, and passing on A10 members St. Louis and Duquesne. Newsome averaged 19 points and 5.3 rebounds this year.
Verbal-Not Yet Signed
Caleb Nero, 6-2 SG, Tulsa. Nero gave his verbal to Milwaukee this weekend, and presumably will sign shortly. Nero averaged 24.8 points, 4.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds to help lead Tulsa Memorial to the Class 5A state title this year. Update Asked to be released after the coaching change. Appears will play a year of prep ball.
Vance Johnson, 6-9 PF, Northeast CC. Johnson verbals to Milwaukee on Easter. Other Johnson suitors included MVC teams Evansville and Bradley and New Mexico State. Johnson averaged 13.8 points and 9 rebounds for 21-8 Northeast CC this year.
Northern Kentucky
Letter of Intent
Chris Vogt, 7-0 C, Graves County, Kentucky. It should always raise some excitement when a seven footer signs with a Horizon team. It's almost redundant to say such signees will be raw, but that's still a lot of size in this league. Ranked the #11 prospect in Kentucky by Prep Hoops, Vogt had offers from a number of MVC and MAC teams, CUSA Champ Middle Tennessee State, WAC power New Mexico State, traditionally strong mid-major Western Kentucky, and Tulsa of the American Conference. Vogt is scary thin--Verbal Commits list him at 215 lbs., but other sources list him as low as 180. Vogt averaged 16.8 points and 9.2 rebounds this year despite being slowed by a foot injury, and 17 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.8 blocks as a junior. He finished second all-time in Kentucky for career blocked shots.
Update: Paul Djoko, 6-4 G, France. A member of France's U18 team. Don't know much about him.
Oakland
Letter of Intent
James Beck, 6-7 F, Grand Rapids Christian. Until somebody is not invited back, OU appears to have just 1 scholarship available, and used it last fall on Beck (The rumor is that forward Isaiah Brock will not be on athletic scholarship next year, but use GI Bill benefits. Generally, a recruited athlete, which Brock is, cannot receive other aid from the school. However, the GI bill may not count on that since the aid goes directly to the student). I thought it was a good signing at the time and took some bitter pride when a number of articles appearing during the state tournament noting some surprise at just how good Beck is. Part of him being overlooked was playing in the shadow of Xavier Tillman. Beck can contribute immediately and should take over Jalen Hayes's spot in the starting lineup as a sophomore.
Stanley Scott, 6-4 SG, Williamsburg, Pa. Scott gave OU a verbal a couple months ago, but he apparently has not signed an LOI and I'm not sure if they've got room for him until someone leaves or is not renewed (see above). Scott's a good player, though--he was second team all-state in Pennsylvania's 6A Class after averaging 20.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and three steals per game.
Julius Palmer, 6-9 C, McLellan CC (Tx). Originally out of Detroit Western, Palmer averaged 7 points and 5 rebounds at McLellan, while shooting 73%. Not likely to be a starter, but should play off the bench.
Transfer
Update, 8/23. Kamari Newman, 6-4 G, George Mason. A Mr. Basketball finalist in 2016, Newman averaged 4.7 ppg at GMU last year. He actually played pretty well, but just got caught in a crunch of a team with too many guards, and decided to transfer. He's a good three point shooter and should fit in well with Coach Kampe's style of play. He'll sit the 2018 season and then have 3 years left.
Wright State
Letters of Intent
Tyler Mitchell, 6-0 PG, King's Mill, Ohio. An early signee, the lightly recruited Mitchell averaged 14.7 points, 4.3 assists, and three rebounds as a junior, and 11 points and 3 assists during an injury plagued senior year.
Jaylon Hall, 6-6 SG, Louisville (Doss). Hall averaged 19 points, 4.0 rebounds., 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting over 50%, and was regional POY and a nominee for Kentucky Mr. Basketball this year. A two star recruit, scouts say Hall is a "raw" player still learning the game. His only other reported offer came from Youngstown State.
Added 4/25. James Manns, 6-7 SF, Columbus, Oh. Manns committed to HIgh Point out of high school, but ended up spending this last year at Kingston Academy, a new prep program in Columbus. I presume he failed to qualify at that time. He averaged 18 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 blocks as a high school senior, and 16 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist at the prep school.
D-I Transfers
Billy Wampler, 6-6 F, Drake. Wampler averaged 9.6 points and 2.5 rebounds in 22 per game last year at Drake. Wampler was highly recruited by mid-majors out of high school, including a couple of A10 offers (Richmond, La Salle), low P5 schools (Auburn), and Creighton. Over one 7 game stretch last December he averaged 19.6 ppg, including a 23 point, 7 rebound game against Iowa State. He'll sit 2017-18, then have two years of eligibility.
Cole Gentry, 5-10 G, South Dakota State. Gentry was a Scott Nagy recruit to SD State, before Nagy moved to WSU. He didn't immediately follow Nagy but was a midseason transfer and will become eligible when the semester ends in December. He averaged 16 minutes and 3.3. ppg last year before transferring. He already used a red-shirt year at SD State, so absent an NCAA waiver he'll have just 2.5 seasons with the Raiders.
Youngstown State
Youngstown's new coach, Jerrod Calhoun, has already added a couple of verbal commits, but no announcement of LOI's being signed yet. Presumably they'll sign in the next few days. Neither player has much of a recruiting trail. (Update: Obviously several have signed since this was first posted, and that's reflected below). They are:
Letters of Intent
Jacob Brown, 6-9 PF, Clemons, NC. Calhoun offered him at Fairmont State before taking the YSU job. Brown is said to move his feet well and have good instincts, but he needs to add weight and muscle. He would be a good candidate to redshirt.
Added 4/18. Naz Bohannon, 6-5 SF, Lorain, Oh. Two sport star Bohannon turned down football offers from Michigan State, Pitt, Cincinnati, and others to play mid-major hoops. Wny? Bohannon has a 3.93 HS GPA and wants to major in Engineering, where YSU has a pretty good program. Frankly, I'm surprised Akron wasn't all over him. This is a nice recruit for Calhoun, a first-team AP All-Ohio player who had offers from, among others, New Mexico State, Indiana State, and nearby Kent State. Last season he averaged 17.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
Garrett Covington, 6-5 SF, Carmel, Ind (Don Boscoe Prep). Covington visited YSU this weekend and committed while there. (Signed LOI 4/20)
Added 4/25 Michael Akuchie, 6-7 F, Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. Calhoun has hit the ground running, to be sure. Akuchie had a number of low mid-major offers after averaging 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals per game last season, and also carries a 4.2 GPA. Of his official visit to YSU, he reported: “I had lobster bisque at a restaurant on my visit, which was amazing." Lobster bisque? It's fair to say this ain't your father's Youngstown!
Verbal-No LOI
Added 5/5. Deaundra Murphy, 6-4 SG, St. Joseph's, WV. Calhoun strikes again. Murphy was the leading scorer in the state of West Virginia last year, averaging over 28 ppg. Like Brown, Akuchie, and Covington, Murphy didn't have a lot of D-I action in his recruiting. But these are guys Calhoun knew, and he's gotten them to move to YSU. He's active, he's filling the gaps. Bohannon is a quality recruit. It's a great start for YSU and whether or not these guys can cut it, I suspect that Calhoun will begin getting more highly sought after recruits when he has a full recruiting season to work with. It's neat to seat YSU fans actually talking basketball, not just football.
Added 5/9. Noe Anabir, 6-8 PF, Mesa CC. Anabir averaged 9pts and 5 reb per game at Mesa last year.
Added 5/10. Alex Wilbourn, 6-11 C, San Diego City College. Wilbourn joins YSU after two nearly identical seasons at San Diego CC. For the two seasons, he averaged 8.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1 block, with slightly better numbers as a freshman. That's 7 players added in a month for Calhoun.
Added 5/15. Tyree Robinson, 6-6 F, Odessa CC. Coach Calhoun strikes again, and its a good one. 6-5 F Tyree Robinson, a Massachusetts "Dream Team" selection in high school who spent the last two seasons at juco power Odessa CC. This year he averaged 12.8 points in just over 15 minutes per game, so he can score. He also cornered over 7 rebounds per game. Again, in just 15 minutes per game. He was an all-conference selection and ranked as the #34 juco prospect in the country by Juco Recruiting. Back in high school, the two-time first-team all stater averaged 25.7 points, 13 rebounds, and 5.5 blocks as a senior. Robinson signed with New Mexico State last fall but requested and got a release when the Aggies changed coaches. YSU doesn't ordinarily get players of this caliber.
D-I Transfers
Added 4/26. Devin Morgan, 5-10 G, Delaware State. Delaware State plays in the MEAC, perpetually one of the two or three worst conferences in the nation (often the worst), so the talent level isn't too high. Nonetheless, Morgan has already scored 833 career points, averaging 12.0 as a freshman and 14.4 as a soph. Calhoun had offered him at Fairmont State when he came out of high school, but Morgan had several low D-I offers and chose that route. But he must have thought well of Calhoun. He's an excellent free throw shooter (89%) and a good three point shooter (36%). He'll sit a year as a transfer, and then presumably be lined up to take over for Francisco Santiago.
