‘20 MD Elijah Wood (Nebraska)

[DanInAZ]

Jon Rothstein changed his announcement tweet from 2019 class to 2020 class.

[CT Rhody]

Let’s go!!!

[DC_Rams]

I see no statistics in max preps, only game results.
He did play for a bad HS team, but why? Wouldn’t a top prospect seek out a more competitive environment? Would other top schools in DMV try to recruit him to play with them?
Shouldn’t his individual stats has been better playing on a bad team in a weak league?

He was supposed to go play for a better school, but came back to MD late to play. Slim pickings and tough to get into a WCAC school late cycle. Coaches in the area love the kid.

What coaches love him? He was real bad this HS season, and check his stats this year on UAA with District WAWG during April pd in KC. He’s nothing like Jeff D. He was player in HS/AAU etc. This kid was 6”5 9th grader so got lot buzz since then hasn’t done much. Been to 4 HS and left powerhouse Sunrise after he seen he wouldn’t play. St. Andrews who’s decent private school in dmv he left there after 9th grade. Good luck to him. He’s more of wing then PG can’t guard quick fast athletic guards. He does have measurables for HS jr.

Slim, I hear you, but I know quite a few that speak highly of his ceiling. He wants to play next level as a 1/2 guard. Remember, you and I are in the same boat, however, because I’m a fan, I’m going to remain hopeful that he is the kid the staffs sees or wants to see.

[ramster]

He was supposed to go play for a better school, but came back to MD late to play. Slim pickings and tough to get into a WCAC school late cycle. Coaches in the area love the kid.

What coaches love him? He was real bad this HS season, and check his stats this year on UAA with District WAWG during April pd in KC. He’s nothing like Jeff D. He was player in HS/AAU etc. This kid was 6”5 9th grader so got lot buzz since then hasn’t done much. Been to 4 HS and left powerhouse Sunrise after he seen he wouldn’t play. St. Andrews who’s decent private school in dmv he left there after 9th grade. Good luck to him. He’s more of wing then PG can’t guard quick fast athletic guards. He does have measurables for HS jr.

Slim, I hear you, but I know quite a few that speak highly of his ceiling. He wants to play next level as a 1/2 guard. Remember, you and I are in the same boat, however, because I’m a fan, I’m going to remain hopeful that he is the kid the staffs sees or wants to see.

Slim,
I have difficulty finding stats for UAA AAU. Can you provide a link?
DC_Rams,
Will he stay at the same HS for his senior year?

[DC_Rams]

What coaches love him? He was real bad this HS season, and check his stats this year on UAA with District WAWG during April pd in KC. He’s nothing like Jeff D. He was player in HS/AAU etc. This kid was 6”5 9th grader so got lot buzz since then hasn’t done much. Been to 4 HS and left powerhouse Sunrise after he seen he wouldn’t play. St. Andrews who’s decent private school in dmv he left there after 9th grade. Good luck to him. He’s more of wing then PG can’t guard quick fast athletic guards. He does have measurables for HS jr.

Slim, I hear you, but I know quite a few that speak highly of his ceiling. He wants to play next level as a 1/2 guard. Remember, you and I are in the same boat, however, because I’m a fan, I’m going to remain hopeful that he is the kid the staffs sees or wants to see.

Slim,
I have difficulty finding stats for UAA AAU. Can you provide a link?
DC_Rams,
Will he stay at the same HS for his senior year?

Most likely.

[theblueram]

Nice pick up!!!!! Welcome to the Show Elijah!!!

[Running Ram]

Put your doubts aside folks. This is a great commit! Wood is a consensus 4 star recruit who chose Rhody for our winning culture. Get on board and support, look for great things to come. If this was before DH dragged us up from the swamp you would all be gushing about the 4 star recruit we landed. It's great and should be appreciated that DC is able to keep the recruiting ball rolling.

[Slim]

What coaches love him? He was real bad this HS season, and check his stats this year on UAA with District WAWG during April pd in KC. He’s nothing like Jeff D. He was player in HS/AAU etc. This kid was 6”5 9th grader so got lot buzz since then hasn’t done much. Been to 4 HS and left powerhouse Sunrise after he seen he wouldn’t play. St. Andrews who’s decent private school in dmv he left there after 9th grade. Good luck to him. He’s more of wing then PG can’t guard quick fast athletic guards. He does have measurables for HS jr.

Slim, I hear you, but I know quite a few that speak highly of his ceiling. He wants to play next level as a 1/2 guard. Remember, you and I are in the same boat, however, because I’m a fan, I’m going to remain hopeful that he is the kid the staffs sees or wants to see.

Slim,
I have difficulty finding stats for UAA AAU. Can you provide a link?
DC_Rams,
Will he stay at the same HS for his senior year?

http://uaa.io/teamstats.aspx?path=17u&y ... chool=wawg

[Rhody83]

He has only played one weekend of AAU in the Spring avg 13 mins/game. I trust Cox as an evaluator/recruiter. This was his recruit.
Elijah has the skills. Rhody needs him to be productive 2 1/2 years from now (start of 21-22 season). Plenty of time for him to develop and mature.

[DC_Rams]

He has only played one weekend of AAU in the Spring avg 13 mins/game. I trust Cox as an evaluator/recruiter. This was his recruit.
Elijah has the skills. Rhody needs him to be productive 2 1/2 years from now (start of 21-22 season). Plenty of time for him to develop and mature.

I’m going to do the same.

[Slim]

He has only played one weekend of AAU in the Spring avg 13 mins/game. I trust Cox as an evaluator/recruiter. This was his recruit.
Elijah has the skills. Rhody needs him to be productive 2 1/2 years from now (start of 21-22 season). Plenty of time for him to develop and mature.

Excuses you can live on 5 star, 4 star, 3 Stars or 0 Stars Wood still hasn’t done much in HS\AAU. He had bad HS year and has been to 4 HS already and prob 6 AAU teams District WAWG, Team Thrill, Team BBC, Boo Williams, DC Blue Devils, Team Statement to name few over the last 2 years.

There’s reason he shut AAU down early too he was getting exposed. Smart move though. There’s reason why no high majors took him. He’s more hype then substance. Does that change maybe time will tell. Good luck!

[RF1]

Highly rated. Got many P5 offers. Seems like a very big get.

[ramster]

He has only played one weekend of AAU in the Spring avg 13 mins/game. I trust Cox as an evaluator/recruiter. This was his recruit.
Elijah has the skills. Rhody needs him to be productive 2 1/2 years from now (start of 21-22 season). Plenty of time for him to develop and mature.

Why has he only played 1 weekend? Injured?

[ramster]

nm

[Rhodyhooopz]

The start of a big recruiting class. With 4 scholarships to fill and begin it with a 4 star is a good start. Keep it up DC!

[bigappleram]

Has there been a more polarizing 4 star recruit ever at Rhody? Will be an interesting social experiment to look back on this thread and see who had it right - KB insiders or our staff. I will admit that a 6'5" PG at our level is very intriguing, however often guys are highly rated purely on athleticism/measurables (read Makai Ashton Langford). There are also some clear red flags with the multiple high schools and AAU free agency. Not great indicators of future success.

[SandorClegane]

Great news to have a 4 star locked in early for ‘20. Props to the coaching staff. Welcome Froto.

[Slim]

He has only played one weekend of AAU in the Spring avg 13 mins/game. I trust Cox as an evaluator/recruiter. This was his recruit.
Elijah has the skills. Rhody needs him to be productive 2 1/2 years from now (start of 21-22 season). Plenty of time for him to develop and mature.

Excuses you can live on 5 star, 4 star, 3 Stars or 0 Stars Wood still hasn’t done much in HS\AAU. He had bad HS year and has been to 4 HS already and prob 6 AAU teams District WAWG, Team Thrill, Team BBC, Boo Williams, DC Blue Devils, Team Statement to name few over the last 2 years.

There’s reason he shut AAU down early too he was getting exposed. Smart move though. There’s reason why no high majors took him. He’s more hype then substance. Does that change maybe time will tell. Good luck!

His team had already been eliminated from going to the UA Tournament in July as their record is only 3-9
Nike EYBL is where most of the best players go for AAU, not so much Under Armor
So he is on a pretty weak HS Team and a not so good AAU team.

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Lot good players on the UAA circuit. They had some Mcdonald All Americans kids who played on UAA circuit. The district WAWG team had guard who blew up this spring named Ashley James and reclassed to 2020. Should be high major recruit.

Wood has length n athleticism, but no strength and no true skill set which hurts his game against more talented players. Everyone claims he has upside I’m not sure because he’s older Reclass Hs jr. Skill development in strength/condition will be key for him. Most of his offers imo weren’t legit offers so not surprised he landed at Tulane n now at URI mid major school.

Imo he’s project similar to how M. Mading is, but Mading just didn’t have the same hype. Sometimes projects do pan out let’s see what happens.

[theblueram]

So we landed a 4* fringe top 100 guard, and he's either EC Matthews or Aris the greek? Is that it?

[reef]

Yeah let’s hope it’s more of EC and less Aris

[Rhody83]

The comment about AAU is misleading. There are plenty of good players playing Adidas and UA. Nike is the deepest.

[Rhody83]

I wasn’t a Mading fan and saw him play a good deal. No way Wood is comparable to Mading. Mading was 6’11” playing against weak non circuit AAU teams. The next tallest player in the court was 6’5” and he did next to nothing (stat lines with 2 points).

I agree rankings can be off but Mading was rated 250+ Worse than Wood.

Slim doesn’t like Wood and I get that but he seems a little exaggerated on his evaluation.

[KevanBoyles]

Outside of Harris, our highest ranked recruit since 2016 has been at 198 (Fatts). At least two services have Wood in the top 117 players. That’s good enough for me. I don’t know how accurate it is, but relative to 198 that’s an improvement and getting a relatively higher ranked player should help in attracting others. At the end of the day it’s all about how much the coach can get out of his players. Some coaches get more out of their players than others. A couple of good examples are Tony Bennett at UVA and then Dan when he was at URI.

[Rhody83]

[Rhody83]

[ramster]

https://www.providencejournal.com/sport ... its-to-uri

[Rhodymob05]

I’m a fan anytime we get a 4 star. Go Rams!

[Seawrightspostgame]

Exciting news. Cant we be hopeful for the kid? For the program?

I feel like everything is coming along fine. I hope DaveCox era really starts to take off.

I give him tons of credit for handling himself all year the way he did.

[theblueram]

nm

[Slim]

I wasn’t a Mading fan and saw him play a good deal. No way Wood is comparable to Mading. Mading was 6’11” playing against weak non circuit AAU teams. The next tallest player in the court was 6’5” and he did next to nothing (stat lines with 2 points).

I agree rankings can be off but Mading was rated 250+ Worse than Wood.

Slim doesn’t like Wood and I get that but he seems a little exaggerated on his evaluation.

Stop it. I’m talking basketball and have seen the kid play since he’s been 12 so I know his game well. I don’t dislike the kid at all. He has struggled in HS/AAU basketball.

Again, there’s reason no High major schools took him. The 4 star is overrated. He couldn’t outplay D3 kids this HS season.

[theblueram]

I wasn’t a Mading fan and saw him play a good deal. No way Wood is comparable to Mading. Mading was 6’11” playing against weak non circuit AAU teams. The next tallest player in the court was 6’5” and he did next to nothing (stat lines with 2 points).

I agree rankings can be off but Mading was rated 250+ Worse than Wood.

Slim doesn’t like Wood and I get that but he seems a little exaggerated on his evaluation.

Stop it. I’m talking basketball and have seen the kid play since he’s been 12 so I know his game well. I don’t dislike the kid at all. He has struggled in HS/AAU basketball.

Again, there’s reason no High major schools took him. The 4 star is overrated. He couldn’t outplay D3 kids this HS season.

Is he better than Aris or Omar? Then it's an upgrade!!!!!!!!

[theblueram]

Hey Slim, you may be right. We all will know the first time the kid hits the floor. But a 4* signing lights up the newspapers.

[PeterRamTime]

Frodo?

Woohoo!

He dropped the ring into mordor!

[URIRecruitingInfo]

Has there been a more polarizing 4 star recruit ever at Rhody? Will be an interesting social experiment to look back on this thread and see who had it right - KB insiders or our staff. I will admit that a 6'5" PG at our level is very intriguing, however often guys are highly rated purely on athleticism/measurables (read Makai Ashton Langford). There are also some clear red flags with the multiple high schools and AAU free agency. Not great indicators of future success.

Yes*

*He was a transfer from Indiana at the time

[Rhodymob05]

I wasn’t a Mading fan and saw him play a good deal. No way Wood is comparable to Mading. Mading was 6’11” playing against weak non circuit AAU teams. The next tallest player in the court was 6’5” and he did next to nothing (stat lines with 2 points).

I agree rankings can be off but Mading was rated 250+ Worse than Wood.

Slim doesn’t like Wood and I get that but he seems a little exaggerated on his evaluation.

Stop it. I’m talking basketball and have seen the kid play since he’s been 12 so I know his game well. I don’t dislike the kid at all. He has struggled in HS/AAU basketball.

Again, there’s reason no High major schools took him. The 4 star is overrated. He couldn’t outplay D3 kids this HS season.

Is he better than Aris or Omar? Then it's an upgrade!!!!!!!!

You’re saying no high major school such as “Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Auburn, Georgia, TCU, Florida, Kansas State and Ole Miss.”? Who all offered him.

[theblueram]

Stop it. I’m talking basketball and have seen the kid play since he’s been 12 so I know his game well. I don’t dislike the kid at all. He has struggled in HS/AAU basketball.

Again, there’s reason no High major schools took him. The 4 star is overrated. He couldn’t outplay D3 kids this HS season.

Is he better than Aris or Omar? Then it's an upgrade!!!!!!!!

You’re saying no high major school such as “Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Auburn, Georgia, TCU, Florida, Kansas State and Ole Miss.”? Who all offered him.

Look, we have Slim and DC Rams downplaying this signing. Not me. I'm 100% on board!!!!

[Rhody15]

Hey Slim, you may be right. We all will know the first time the kid hits the floor. But a 4* signing lights up the newspapers.

We won’t know the first time he hits the floor, or else we all would have thought EC and Hassan would be busts.

[DC_Rams]

Is he better than Aris or Omar? Then it's an upgrade!!!!!!!!

You’re saying no high major school such as “Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Auburn, Georgia, TCU, Florida, Kansas State and Ole Miss.”? Who all offered him.

Look, we have Slim and DC Rams downplaying this signing. Not me. I'm 100% on board!!!!

I never downplayed the signing. I support the staff as I always have. Slim isn’t a URI fan.

[Rhody83]

I respect the concern. Even from Slim. However, Slim had Matt Balanc as a major contributor on a good D1 team.
We are waiting to see Matt’s results at Quinnipiac. He was also very high on Yazzy Gultekin who signed with VTech and has followed Buzz to Texas A&M - let’s see how he does.

I will take David Cox's evaluation over Slim’s. I also can’t ignore all of the recruiting evaluators who do the ratings.
I believe Coach Cox sees the skills and athletic ability he needs to develop Elijah into a regular rotation player at Rhody.

[DC_Rams]

I respect the concern. Even from Slim. However, Slim had Matt Balanc as a major contributor on a good D1 team.
We are waiting to see Matt’s results at Quinnipiac. He was also very high on Yazzy Gultekin who signed with VTech and has followed Buzz to Texas A&M - let’s see how he does.

I will take David Cox's evaluation over Slim’s. I also can’t ignore all of the recruiting evaluators who do the ratings.
I believe Coach Cox sees the skills and athletic ability he needs to develop Elijah into a regular rotation player at Rhody.

To be fair, Balanc suffered a season ending injury. However, he is at the school where he belongs.

Gultekin is a wait and see.

[Rhodymob05]

Is he better than Aris or Omar? Then it's an upgrade!!!!!!!!

You’re saying no high major school such as “Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Auburn, Georgia, TCU, Florida, Kansas State and Ole Miss.”? Who all offered him.

Look, we have Slim and DC Rams downplaying this signing. Not me. I'm 100% on board!!!!

That was meant for Slim, my bad.

[rambone 78]

My guess is, Cox would have backed off on the kid if he thought he was a major project.

PG is a major priority here for 2020, and it's important to get it right.

I mean Wood is definitely quite Slim lol...but he will develop here I'm sure.

If Elijah has a high BB IQ like Jeff has, to me that's key.

[theblueram]

You’re saying no high major school such as “Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Auburn, Georgia, TCU, Florida, Kansas State and Ole Miss.”? Who all offered him.

Look, we have Slim and DC Rams downplaying this signing. Not me. I'm 100% on board!!!!

I never downplayed the signing. I support the staff as I always have. Slim isn’t a URI fan.

"Over. Rated. Period.

Wait and see."

Your words.

[DC_Rams]

Look, we have Slim and DC Rams downplaying this signing. Not me. I'm 100% on board!!!!

I never downplayed the signing. I support the staff as I always have. Slim isn’t a URI fan.

"Over. Rated. Period.

Wait and see."

Your words.

Was he signed then? That downplays it?

Again, I don’t claim to be anything I am not. I am not a scout or talent evaluator. I am going to defer to the staff on this one as I always have. I trust they know better than I (which I pray every coach/scout in America does).

[KevanBoyles]

His commitment just made us number 14 in the 2020 247Sports Team Rankings.

[Rhody83]

His commitment just made us number 14 in the 2020 247Sports Team Rankings.

Let’s leverage that to sign Miles and a big man.

[Running Ram]

I've been the equivalent of internet biting my tongue in this thread, but DC said it first, slim is not a URI fan and his comments read that way in this thread, any URI fan that isn't excited about the impact of a four star recruit commitment this early in the cycle is either not a fan or is an individual whom lacks common sense. Even if you doubt the veracity of the rankings, this commitment is huge!

[Slim]

I respect the concern. Even from Slim. However, Slim had Matt Balanc as a major contributor on a good D1 team.
We are waiting to see Matt’s results at Quinnipiac. He was also very high on Yazzy Gultekin who signed with VTech and has followed Buzz to Texas A&M - let’s see how he does.

I will take David Cox's evaluation over Slim’s. I also can’t ignore all of the recruiting evaluators who do the ratings.
I believe Coach Cox sees the skills and athletic ability he needs to develop Elijah into a regular rotation player at Rhody.

Lolololol. Your making it personal. The stats from HS/AAu also paint pretty clear picture. 4 HS n 6 AAU teams. For the record Cox is new coach so good luck to him. He was at Rutgers before as Asst correct ? Wasn’t fan of Wally Judge and bunch other local kids who had * next to there names. It happens some kids aren’t as good as the hype. Yes I have seen Wood way more then Cox. Cox is human he can miss on kid and he has before. Part of the business. Wood has never shown well in HS/AAU yet so if you want believe n his upside great I don’t see it. Yes I could be wrong, but I don’t think so.

I like Mekhi long , Fatts , Jeff, Tate and few others on the roster. Sorry just never seen Wood”s produce ever. Why wouldnt MD, Va tech, UVA , Mason, GW, Gtown etc all Not offer or make push on him?

Also, since you made it personal Go check Malcolm miller(NBA Raptors Roster) , Zach thomas(Patriot Leg Player of Year 2018), Emmanuel Omgobo (First Team All Moutain West 2017), Jamal Olaswere(Mid Major All American 2015) , Zaid Hearst(2016 MAAC All First Team) just to name few I trust my eyes. Sorry.

With Wood it’s not personal he’s just never done anything. He was potential kid early in HS and hasn’t lived up to it so far. Lack of skill set and toughness to me. Good athlete , and good length, ok IQ not sure that screams success at the next level.

[Iggy1979]

The biggest question: how will he handle adversity

[Slim]

The biggest question: how will he handle adversity

He hasn't done it well to this point. 4 HS and 6 AAU teams since 9th grade. Good luck with that. lol. These are only FACTS I post.