Recruiting Math
By Jeff
You are allowed 13 scholarships. The Bows have 7 scholarship players returning plus one who sat out last year, Davis Rozitis, the USC transfer. That's 8. They announced five signings. Biggs,Blakes,Stevens,Brereton, and Mitchell. There at least two verbal committments out there, one being Tyler McDaniels, Assistant Coach Benjy Taylor's son. By my count you already have 13 scholarship players and possibly two on the way. So what does the math tell me?
It tells me that one or more of this year's players will not be coming back. Who are the candidate?. In my view, at the top of the list, is Dominick Brumfield. If i had to guess on another, and its simply a guess, it could be Miles or Wiseman, both of whom had some academic issues this year.
Remember that Miah is not on a basketball scholarship and the Utah transer, Jace Tavita, will " walk-on" in December. If he has any talent, he is going to want a scholarship somewhere along the way.
We are told that the staff is still out recruiting. Interesting. Another interesting fact is that apparently, some of these guys signed without ever taking a visit . Hopefully they know enough about the program , the school, the community, and their team-mates that it wont be an issue.
The recruiting sites say many of the 5 signed recruits have significant upside potential. Some have real weaknesses that will need to be addressed. Stevens turned down a number of Big West schools, and Brereton turned down BYU. Its good to see three high school kids in the group .
Not sure this class has addressed the point guard needs, but with Miles, Biggs, and Miah( who wont play until the football season is over), its a start.
Hoops Talk
April 14th, 2011 at 7:29 pm
I like the fact that the coaches are going out and recruiting guys that have a lot of talent. We probably before haven't seen solid mainland recruits come to Hawaii to play. Though the types of players they're recruiting now gives me concern. What kind of program is Gib trying to build? Two players leave the team last year, one of which was recruited by him, and then another two have academic problems. Then in this recruiting class there are question marks with attitude and team dismissal. Like any other fan I would like to see this team succeed, but at what cost are we willing to sacrifice to get there. Every UH team seen on tv especially has a significant impact on the community and the state. These student athletes are role models for young kids.
April 14th, 2011 at 7:38 pm
my guess:Brumfield gone, McDaniels walks on
April 14th, 2011 at 10:12 pm
biggs is not the pg candidate. at 6'7", dillon biggs is being looked at as a sf/sg. gerry blakes of the thus far named five is the only pg type. although he probably will end his career at the 2.
April 14th, 2011 at 11:20 pm
Why did Miles's stock go down? I saw an early game this last season and he was by far the most imprerssive new player. He had great body control; and seemed to run the offense okay.
April 14th, 2011 at 11:48 pm
Miles was promising when he filled in for ailing Hiram early in the season, I think against Florida St. But he needs to work on his quickness. And to the question of when Miles' stock went down, I'd say when Miah got his b-ball legs and looked like the PG this team hasn't had in a long time.
April 15th, 2011 at 2:04 am
Hank --RE: Bobby Miles: i think you're Right ... Miles has big up-side -- i think he was just slow (normal) in adjusting to D-1 Ball from High School -- MANY All-WAC Guards (for Hawai'i) took at least one to two years to transition AND point guard is much harder than shooting guard or wing [i think he's ahead of that schedule) what with calling and RECOGNIZING Both Offenses and to other teams' switching defenses (just like FB QBs who take years to transition -- BB is a faster sport) ... AND while they're learning, natural skills slow down or get blunted, hesitated, delayed ... Bobby is a Good, Physical Defender, has good body strength and hops AND DOES have scoring, box out and passing skills (28 points per game, 12-14 !! REBOUNDS per game and 5-10 Assists per game in High School -- Those kind of numbers are outstanding no matter what the competition (smaller schools)... so with a few skill-building efforts, learning to run a team fast (like Miah), 300 shots per day all summer, develop the outside shot reliability and drive to the hoop (like Miah), i think Bobby could quickly develop into one of the best [i quote Miah repeatedly because it's easier to "buy-in" and learn skills when the guy next to you is providing the pattern, coaching, role-model, encouragement and minute-by-minute example ... Think Maybe: "faster than Mike MacIntyre" or even Troy Bowe or Kalia McGee who all took 'til their junior or senior years to become complete players...]
TOUGH Building a Program and encouraging transfers or maybe even canceling (or not renewing) scholarships (i'm sure the staff & co. will help place every one .....) [Riley had to do this his first/second years, too...]
... RE: #1 - i think Gib & Co. ARE bringing in good citizens or good people -- there ARE other emerging (rel. new) issues with AAU coaches talking players into transferring etc. [they seem to think they're "agents"]; The Freshmen struggling with college academics is a long-true fact of life -- 3/4's of freshmen in the general population won't make it to their senior year or graduation ...
April 15th, 2011 at 5:01 am
Would Tyler get a free (or discounted) ride because his dad is UH staff? If so, would that count toward the scholarship count?
April 15th, 2011 at 6:18 am
I like the upside on Blakes, Biggs, Brereton and Stevens. Mitchell, on the other hand, though talented seems like an accident waiting to happen. I'm surprised he'd take a chance on a guy like this, but his talent level must be considerable. Truly hope it works out and he doesn't turn out to be another Dwaine Williams, etc.
April 15th, 2011 at 8:22 am
as usual, al you are correct. i meant to type Blakes as the point guard candidate, not Biggs. Speaking of Blakes, scouting reports on him say he is a terrific athlete that loves transition ( a style Gib would love to play if he had the right players). He is a slasher and can be a lock down defender. On the negative side, he has a tendency to take ill-advised jump shots and is prone to turn-overs ( according to the reports i have read). He needs to learn how to manage the half court offense as well. The bottom line is that he is a real " sleeper". He plays to win, and if he can learn to control his game and learn how to manage an offense, he could be a good one.
April 15th, 2011 at 8:24 am
Tyler wouldn't count as one of the scholarships. Just part of the freebies when your dad is an employee at UH. Is it a done deal were he's coming? Thought he might have a few offers from other schools he's looking at.
April 15th, 2011 at 10:37 am
looks like more movement from the existing roster, too bad,they're good kids ,hope we can keep them.
April 15th, 2011 at 10:54 am
Absolutely!
April 15th, 2011 at 11:19 am
I would have to agree about the possible loss of players, my guess in order would be Brumfield, Miles, and Wiseman would be last to go. Hate to see that, Wiseman really showed signs of improvement and I hope that he can stick it out over here. Miles had a rough transition and Brumfield was hurt and should have redshirted if possible.
However, if we want a build a solid program, than you have to get the best players that you can get and if that means replacing the one you have already I'm all for that!! Hope it all works out for all the players that are involved. Thank you for representing Hawaii well!! Good luck Rainbow Warrior Basketball.
April 15th, 2011 at 11:32 am
protector, regarding "another Dwaine Williams", do you remember Ray Reed? came in with a lot more baggage (felony sex assault, IIRC) but managed to stay out of trouble. he led UH over Pitt to take the Rainbow Classic title. so there are guys who can turn things around. i think Gib left no stone unturned looking into Mitchell's past and came to a mutual agreement of a zero tolerance (or at least a very short leash) policy. we will see...
April 15th, 2011 at 11:59 am
protector, regarding "Dwaine Williams, etc", do you remember Ray Reed? he came in with a lot more baggage than any of the other head cases over the years (felony sex assault, IIRC). i think he had only 1 year of eligibility left, but he managed to stay out of trouble. led uh over pitt to take the rainbow classic title. so some guys do deserve a second chance.
im sure gib left no stone unturned in looking into Mitchell's past. i have a feeling that he and Mitchell came to a mutual agreement on a zero tolerance (or very short leash) policy. we will see...
i feel bad for those who may be forced out--that's what it is, lets not kid ourselves. i hope that gib explains to all recruits that their stay here is on a year to year basis and that their scholarships can be yanked at any time, for any reason. somehow, i don't think he'd be as successful in recruiting if he was to be so explicit.
April 15th, 2011 at 3:18 pm
ha! We were all wrong. It's Barnes who's leaving.
BIK
April 15th, 2011 at 4:25 pm
well, your're wrong, Bo just announced he's leaving.Next person please....Brumfield