'20 UK PF - Josh Ogundele (Iowa ---> Middle Tennessee)

[PeterRamTime]

I feel like we should be able to sell to some of these guys that we too will be playing in some big games ourselves and the vast majority of our games lately have been on national TV.

The A-10 is just outside the power five and we have seen how much attention we can get when we are good.

We are really not that far off from Iowa, Cincy, or Tech.
Nice arena, basketball school. We have a pretty tough conference (right outside the power five) and we are on TV throughout the year. We always play multiple tournament teams throughout the year and most of our players play professionally.

If we offer more playing time along with these other positives then we should be able to compete with these mid level power 5 teams.

We won't get many ore chances at players like this if Cox can't continue what Hurley built though....

Cincy has made the tournament 9 straight years, winning 20+ each of those 9 seasons, which includes two 30 win seasons.

We are no where close to Any of those schools, especially Cincy.

And what was Cinci's record against URI in those 9 straight years?

0-1

AS I SAID

This is a place that can compete with the Cinci's of the world.

Therefore we are NOT THAT FAR OFF from these schools level. ON THE COURT.

[Rhody83]

Cincy also has a new coach and will be in a rebuild with 7 open scholarships for next year.

[rhodyfan3000]

Can he bang? Because he has the body of a banger, moreso than anyone currently on the roster.

I don't think it really matters if he plays the "4" or "5" per se, or even if he wants to knock down jumpers, so long as he is willing to get physical down low, that's what Rhody would need.

My guess, based on nothing, is Iowa or Rhody, even with the Cincinnati visit.

Someone ought to tell him that URI is Rutgers North.

[FDshoes]

Valdir committing monday wonder if that has impact with Josh? Hope not.

[DC_Rams]

Committing where?

[FDshoes]

Committing where?

Us Penn st or W. virginia

[PeterRamTime]

Can he bang? Because he has the body of a banger, moreso than anyone currently on the roster.

I don't think it really matters if he plays the "4" or "5" per se, or even if he wants to knock down jumpers, so long as he is willing to get physical down low, that's what Rhody would need.

My guess, based on nothing, is Iowa or Rhody, even with the Cincinnati visit.

Someone ought to tell him that URI is Rutgers North.

I'm sure there are actually quite a few "bangers" on the team. Them being young men and all, you know...

I'd sure hope he can "bang" or else his time here might get lonely being the only one who cant "bang"

Not a lot of Eunuchs make it very far in college athletics.

I actually havent heard of ANY playing any type of college sport.

There's been nothing but "bangers" up to this point!

[DC_Rams]

I’d say yes, he can BANG!

[rhodyfan3000]

He has a ram on his jersey.

This is quite the guy. A British national that plays American football and basketball.

[reef]

I would say he qualifies as a Banger look at his build he can bang down low

[SandorClegane]

The funny thing about the articles posted is he almost sounds determined to pry offers out of Rutgers and VT. Not sure how schools that don’t even offer crack your final list.

I would oddly be most worried if one of those schools suddenly offered him, because it seems like there is a lot of interest on his part if he's listing them and they haven't even offered.

Which is why this recruitment gives me a McCleod vibe. I refuse to get my hopes up again lol

Agreed. Been thinking this all along.

[URIRecruitingInfo]

Ogundele stressed that in our interview — that he hasn't made a college decision, and that his recruitment is still open among the schools he is considering. Cincinnati offered in early October. Rhode Island offered him back in June and has built a strong relationship through the summer and early fall.

"I like Rhode Island a lot," Ogundele said. "I have a really good relationship with the coach. I like the team. Obviously, I’m being heavily recruited by them and I just love the overall process from them — they’re very committed."

https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sport ... 004520002/

[DC_Rams]

Ogundele stressed that in our interview — that he hasn't made a college decision, and that his recruitment is still open among the schools he is considering. Cincinnati offered in early October. Rhode Island offered him back in June and has built a strong relationship through the summer and early fall.

"I like Rhode Island a lot," Ogundele said. "I have a really good relationship with the coach. I like the team. Obviously, I’m being heavily recruited by them and I just love the overall process from them — they’re very committed."

https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sport ... 004520002/

We’ve done our part. He would be inserted into the offense much sooner here than anywhere else.

[URIRecruitingInfo]

[rhodyfan3000]

One thing about this is curious. I was reading some of the Iowa fans, and they were saying (paraphrasing) that it was an advantage to be in Iowa, because there are no professional sports teams around. So, starting with their football team, their college teams are the area's sports teams.

As someone from New England, RI, I fail to see how that is an advantage. If you come from the coast, if you come from a huge sports area, like this is, nestled between two giant sports hubs: Boston and New York, and lately Boston has been the undisputed "Sports Town". I'm not seeing the advantage to living or going to school in Iowa, except for the Conference affiliation. Must be boring, in no man's land, away from everything.

I thought I read this kid comes from London. My wife is from Essex, basically a suburb right outside of London. She's a Brit too. If you are from an area like that, it's going to be strange, I would think, heading to a place like Iowa. But I digress, to each his own. I just thought that was some strange logic, that being the only show in town was an advantage. Maybe to the locals it is.

I just had my wife read this before I hit the submit button. She just said "you're going to go from London to Iowa?" with her face all screwed up. That pretty much was the confirmation I needed lol

[DC_Rams]

One thing about this is curious. I was reading some of the Iowa fans, and they were saying (paraphrasing) that it was an advantage to be in Iowa, because there are no professional sports teams around. So, starting with their football team, their college teams are the area's sports teams.

As someone from New England, RI, I fail to see how that is an advantage. If you come from the coast, if you come from a huge sports area, like this is, nestled between two giant sports hubs: Boston and New York, and lately Boston has been the undisputed "Sports Town". I'm not seeing the advantage to living or going to school in Iowa, except for the Conference affiliation. Must be boring, in no man's land, away from everything.

I thought I read this kid comes from London. My wife is from Essex, basically a suburb right outside of London. She's a Brit too. If you are from an area like that, it's going to be strange, I would think, heading to a place like Iowa. But I digress, to each his own. I just thought that was some strange logic, that being the only show in town was an advantage. Maybe to the locals it is.

I just had my wife read this before I hit the submit button. She just said "you're going to go from London to Iowa?" with her face all screwed up. That pretty much was the confirmation I needed lol

Have you or your wife been to Iowa?

The university isn’t in farmland Iowa.....

[bigappleram]

Suffice to say it’s never going to be confused with London, no?

[ramster]

Iowa City - 76,000 people
University of Iowa Students - 24k undergrad, 9k grad = 33k

[ace]

I think this is why some people get so frustrated with players and recruiting- they work out a perfect scenario in their mind about why a guy should come to their school, regardless of what the player said or did. Then, it goes a different way, and they’re mad. It’s all unpredictable and there are no “leaders” in a recruitment until the player signs and/or steps on campus for class. And, if a guy is a top 100ish player, the staffs have little to no control about what is known publicly.

[DC_Rams]

He’s posting his Cincy visit on his IG story. Those facilities are REALLY nice. All bias aside, after seeing his 3 visits, if Cincy is selling me the same thing URI and Iowa are, I’m not sure how we win this battle, UNLESS, relationships means something to him.

[bkoeppen]

He’s posting his Cincy visit on his IG story. Those facilities are REALLY nice. All bias aside, after seeing his 3 visits, if Cincy is selling me the same thing URI and Iowa are, I’m not sure how we win this battle, UNLESS, relationships means something to him.

I think you have to weigh the the impact of the new coach with Cincy too, but the bottom line is if you are looking at Cincy vs Rhody you're trading off fancy facilities vs playing time and more of a chance of getting recruited over. it's that simple. I would also argue the American Conf is not much better than A-10 if at all.

[rhodyfan3000]

I'm not going to be angry if Josh doesn't pick URI, ace. I'm just trying to understand why someone from London would pick Iowa.

How many times in the past have we been locked in a recruiting battle for the same player with Iowa? Not many, right? We don't tend to go for the same players, I'm guessing locale has something to do with that. Part of the reason kids like Elijah Wood and Ishmael Leggett choose a school like Rhode Island, is because RI is not Mars compared to where they come from. It's a little further up the coast and gives them a chance to be at a place that is ball park similar to their actual home. And of course, they form a very strong relationship with the coaching staff and believe that someone like Coach Cox is going to give them a great chance to maximize their college playing career. If we didn't have that going for us, we'd be in rough shape.

That's why I'm saying, been nothing but pleasantly surprised by how great a job Cox is doing.

[UCH21377]

I can't figure out what my kids are going to do next. Trying to predict what any kid of that age is thinking is a futile exercise. He'll go where he goes. We did everything we could by the sounds of it. I'm sure there are plenty of wonderful things about Iowa City, and Cinci for that matter.

[ramster]

He’s posting his Cincy visit on his IG story. Those facilities are REALLY nice. All bias aside, after seeing his 3 visits, if Cincy is selling me the same thing URI and Iowa are, I’m not sure how we win this battle, UNLESS, relationships means something to him.

I think you have to weigh the the impact of the new coach with Cincy too, but the bottom line is if you are looking at Cincy vs Rhody you're trading off fancy facilities vs playing time and more of a chance of getting recruited over. it's that simple. I would also argue the American Conf is not much better than A-10 if at all.

AAC has risen to #6 right behind #5 BE

A10 dropped to #12 in 2018-19.

Tertsea could say he was recruited over. It all depends on the player’s performance. One reason why there are 1000 transfers per year is because players go for the selling pitch which includes the facilities, campus, Conference they will be playing in (Big 10, vs AAC vs A10
I’ve seen Ogundele play several times for BABC. I would not argue with his #296 ranking. It would seem to me that URI is the best fit for him among the 3 but I am admittedly heavily biased. But closer to where he is playing now and where he is comfortable living I assume.
Recruiting battles like this don’t hurt either considering the 1000 transfers per year. Maybe he ends up here in the long run anyway.

[bkoeppen]

He’s posting his Cincy visit on his IG story. Those facilities are REALLY nice. All bias aside, after seeing his 3 visits, if Cincy is selling me the same thing URI and Iowa are, I’m not sure how we win this battle, UNLESS, relationships means something to him.

I think you have to weigh the the impact of the new coach with Cincy too, but the bottom line is if you are looking at Cincy vs Rhody you're trading off fancy facilities vs playing time and more of a chance of getting recruited over. it's that simple. I would also argue the American Conf is not much better than A-10 if at all.

AAC has risen to #6 right behind #5 BE

A10 dropped to #12 in 2018-19.

Tertsea could say he was recruited over. It all depends on the player’s performance. One reason why there are 1000 transfers per year is because players go for the selling pitch which includes the facilities, campus, Conference they will be playing in (Big 10, vs AAC vs A10
I’ve seen Ogundele play several times for BABC. I would not argue with his #296 ranking. It would seem to me that URI is the best fit for him among the 3 but I am admittedly heavily biased. But closer to where he is playing now and where he is comfortable living I assume.
Recruiting battles like this don’t hurt either considering the 1000 transfers per year. Maybe he ends up here in the long run anyway.

last year was a down year for the A-10 and with UConn leaving the American I think the two conferences are on equal playing fields. Fully admit it's tough to compete with the traditional big 5, and there are certain advantages to playing at cincy vs rhody, just don't think the conference is that much better.

[Rhody83]

He’s posting his Cincy visit on his IG story. Those facilities are REALLY nice. All bias aside, after seeing his 3 visits, if Cincy is selling me the same thing URI and Iowa are, I’m not sure how we win this battle, UNLESS, relationships means something to him.

I think you have to weigh the the impact of the new coach with Cincy too, but the bottom line is if you are looking at Cincy vs Rhody you're trading off fancy facilities vs playing time and more of a chance of getting recruited over. it's that simple. I would also argue the American Conf is not much better than A-10 if at all.

Cincy will lose a lot this year (4 of top 5 players are Seniors or Grad Transfers) Cumberland was POY in the AAC last year. They have five Sr/Grads. They will only return one player next year that has averaged more than 4 ppg. The new coach has to fill 5 open spots in his first recruiting class. Cincy has also redshirted a Fr big man each of the last two year (could be their approach with Josh). The Cincy under Mick Cronin may not be back. Who knows what kind of team Ogundele would be joining.

[ramster]

Tulsa is playing at #21 ranked Cinncinnati today on ESPNU

[Rhody83]

Tulsa is playing at #21 ranked Cinncinnati today on ESPNU

I thought you meant a basketball exhibition game at first.

[ramster]

Tulsa is playing at #21 ranked Cinncinnati today on ESPNU

I thought you meant a basketball exhibition game at first.

Cincinnati winning 10-0 middle of 2nd quarter. Would expect visiting recruits are at this home game for Cincy

[Billyboy78]

I was going to say that maybe Josh doesn't like football. Then I remembered that picture of him in uniform.

[adam914]

I'm not seeing the advantage to living or going to school in Iowa, except for the Conference affiliation. Must be boring, in no man's land, away from everything.

Have you been to Kingston, RI? Not a whole lot going on there either!

[Rhodymob05]

Corn fields vs ocean and beaches? I’ll take the latter.

[RIFan]

I have been to Iowa many times and one time to the University of Iowa. It is a cool town and a good size school...but instead of beaches 15 min from campus it is corn and soy fields.

[adam914]

Trust me, I am certainly not advocating for anyone picking Iowa over URI. Just pointing out and joking that "no man's land, away from everything" is kind of an odd comparison for a URI fan to make about another school.

[DC_Rams]

I’d agree with Adam. Outside of the beaches, URI is in no mans land.

[Rhody83]

On his way back from Cincinnati. No commitment. Take these small positives. I know it is rare for a commitment when a recruit is on campus.

[TruePoint]

I’d agree with Adam. Outside of the beaches, URI is in no mans land.

I think what is great about URI's location, other than beaches, is that it is in a pretty traditional "college town" but that college town is basically an oasis in one of the most densely populated stretches of territory on the planet from Boston to DC. Not that Boston or New York, or even Providence, being a manageable car ride away makes them options for students on a random Friday night - but you're in college, there is PLENTY to do on and around campus with other students. The real benefit is how easy it is to get home for a weekend or to have your friends and family visit you (or come attend one of your games). If you're in Iowa, you can't really get anywhere without a huge effort and same for people coming to you. Also, culturally, Kingston might be rural but the student body is generally kids from civilization - the vast majority of kids are from urban/suburban/exurban towns and cities on the eastern seaboard (RI, Mass, CT, NY/NJ). They're much more culturally familiar than the types of kids that go to Iowa or Kansas, who grew up in one stoplight towns in flyover country.

[DC_Rams]

I’d agree with Adam. Outside of the beaches, URI is in no mans land.

I think what is great about URI's location, other than beaches, is that it is in a pretty traditional "college town" but that college town is basically an oasis in one of the most densely populated stretches of territory on the planet from Boston to DC. Not that Boston or New York, or even Providence, being a manageable car ride away makes them options for students on a random Friday night - but you're in college, there is PLENTY to do on and around campus with other students. The real benefit is how easy it is to get home for a weekend or to have your friends and family visit you (or come attend one of your games). If you're in Iowa, you can't really get anywhere without a huge effort and same for people coming to you. Also, culturally, Kingston might be rural but the student body is generally kids from civilization - the vast majority of kids are from urban/suburban/exurban towns and cities on the eastern seaboard (RI, Mass, CT, NY/NJ). They're much more culturally familiar than the types of kids that go to Iowa or Kansas, who grew up in one stoplight towns in flyover country.

Touché.

[rhodyfan3000]

Certain people on this planet, gravitate to the water. My wife comes from the coastline of the River Thames on an island country. My own ancestors were all from Naples, a port town, and the surrounding villages. If they don't live right on the water, they won't move more than a half hour traveling distance away from it. It's built into our psyche. Adam comes from San Diego, same deal.

That's why I was saying "no man's land". I don't mean to disparage Iowa. Obviously they attract most recruits who are kids from the heartland and are comfortable with that sort of environment. Perhaps it's all they know. Moi? I think I would be very uncomfortable living that far inland. My mom moved to Las Vegas at one point, and some of my family moved there with her. Not me. And she was back after less than a decade. Nice place to visit for vacation, I don't want mountains between me and the shore. It might be a kind of phobia.

I guess people like us, if the world ever came to an end, we'll all drive off a cliff in Jamestown or Narragansett right into the Ocean and end it all. Or a giant tsunami will come and pull us in anyway. We'll be in a great position to do it. I don't really know why we need to be near the water, but it's built into us.

This guy comes from London, England, I just thought it might be a contributing factor. These are tough decisions for a 18-19 year old to make. You choose Iowa, you are going to be in the middle of farm fields for the better part the next four years. Just saying.

[adam914]

Haha, I had no idea my off-hand comment would spark this kind of discussion. I love Rhode Island and would pick it over Iowa every single time for hundreds of reasons, just in case anyone thinks I meant to imply otherwise.

[RIFan]

I once purchased a t-shirt in Iowa that says "Tip beers, not cows"

[theblueram]

How's the fish and chips in Iowa?

[Rhody83]

How's the fish and chips in Iowa?

They have chips in Iowa. You pick them up in the cow pasture

[Rhody83]

SG Tony Perkins (3 star). Offer on Oct 11th. OV 17-19. Commitment on Oct 20th.

[DC_Rams]

I’ll never understand.

[Rhody83]

I’ll never understand.

His first OV to any school.
His other offers are marginal schools including
Ball State
Bradley
IPFW
Miami (Ohio)

Ranked #334 Nationally

This is a major reach for Iowa.
If you are this kid you jump at it.

[DC_Rams]

I’ll never understand.

His first OV to any school.
His other offers are marginal schools including
Ball State
Bradley
IPFW
Miami (Ohio)

Ranked #334 Nationally

This is a major reach for Iowa.
If you are this kid you jump at it.

He won’t see the floor.

[Rhody83]

Expect a full court press on Ogundele this week to make his decision now that his OVs are over for his real final 3.

[Rhody83]

One weak picture by Univ of Cincinnati. The visit seemed generic. Tour of the facilities. They didn’t seem to personalize it like URI did.

[SGreenwell]

One weak picture by Univ of Cincinnati. The visit seemed generic. Tour of the facilities. They didn’t seem to personalize it like URI did.

Jesus, what did they use, a 2001 camera phone to snap that picture?