bkoeppen wrote: ↑5 years ago
i meant i'm being pathetic - trying to read too much into every IG story, but thought it was interesting Cyril was in New Hampshire?
The ride is about 3:15 to Brewster Academy from Kingston without traffic. So driving make sense.
The Pin location on Cyril’s IG story is the White Mountains (near Brewster Academy).
So Cyril could’ve been with Walker for the ride back. Will try to find out.
reef wrote: ↑5 years ago
Awesome news be great to get the commitment soon
Be great to get a commitment any time. No indication he will be making a decision either way soon.
Kansas unofficial on Friday. Kansas has three recruits on official visits this weekend as well including 6’8”PF Robinson-Earl (ranked #14 nationally). They had Chandler Lawson PF (#77) visit the past weekend. Kansas received their first verbal commit last weekend from a 6’5 SF.
Kansas roster shows 3 Seniors = three open scholarships if no one leaves early. They have five Fr this year including a PF.
If they are recruiting for just 3 spots, it looks like they are trying to get a C, PF & SF. They could go for two PF. 247 has five PF recruits for Kansas with a status of “warm”. Walker isn’t one of those five. He still hasn’t received an offer from Kansas. Let’s hope he doesn't get one this weekend.
TruePoint wrote: ↑5 years ago
I mean, I don’t want to root against a kid realizing his dream, but I do hope for our sake that Kansas overlooks him.
I agree. They have two PF recruits in Hurt (#6) and Robinson-Earl (#18) that are predicted to choose Kansas (83% & 100% C Ball). They both played on the USA U18 in the World Championship for Bill Self. So it really isn’t overlooking Walker. Kansas is top 4 in recruiting with Kentucky, Duke & UNC.
Illinios Top 50 PF recruit cuts his list to three after his visit this weekend to Illinois. All visits finished. Here is to hoping he commits to Illinois this week.
Capel shows up today at Bewster to make sure Walker doesn’t commit to Rhody. The protective visit. Similar to the Rhody visit to Bishop once he got home from Xavier visit. Trying to protect your assets. Leave our recruit alone Jeff
On the other hand, I feel much more comfortable forecasting the recruitment of Anthony Walker. The Rivals150 forward spent his first official visit on Pitt two weeks ago and just saw Rhode Island last weekend. Kansas is up next (unofficial), though it has not offered. URI has invested a lot of time with him, as has VCU, but Miami may be the stiffest competition for Walker, though do not discount the Rams.
From where things sit, I see Pittsburgh as the landing spot for Walker, a 6-foot-9 forward that would impact the program from day one.
On the other hand, I feel much more comfortable forecasting the recruitment of Anthony Walker. The Rivals150 forward spent his first official visit on Pitt two weeks ago and just saw Rhode Island last weekend. Kansas is up next (unofficial), though it has not offered. URI has invested a lot of time with him, as has VCU, but Miami may be the stiffest competition for Walker, though do not discount the Rams.
From where things sit, I see Pittsburgh as the landing spot for Walker, a 6-foot-9 forward that would impact the program from day one.
On the other hand, I feel much more comfortable forecasting the recruitment of Anthony Walker. The Rivals150 forward spent his first official visit on Pitt two weeks ago and just saw Rhode Island last weekend. Kansas is up next (unofficial), though it has not offered. URI has invested a lot of time with him, as has VCU, but Miami may be the stiffest competition for Walker, though do not discount the Rams.
From where things sit, I see Pittsburgh as the landing spot for Walker, a 6-foot-9 forward that would impact the program from day one.
I think what he is saying is that Pitt is the frontrunner, with Miami second, followed by URI. It's such a convoluted piece, that I wouldn't read much into it at this point. I do think that Miami and Pitt have more options, so the longer Walker sits on a decision, the better positioned URI is as he is our priority.
Miami is getting nervous too. There protective move right after the RI visit was to start sending him things electronically that are normally part of the wow/cool at the visit like the magazine cover. He posted it on his IG Story.
We will see what happens after the Miami visit. I could see him making a decision before the VCU visit (Oct 20th) but definitely not earlier. They could also visit VCU - it has the geographic advantage of being close to MD.
Miami has people on staff that just make graphics for their recruits across sports. Not sure they're too nervous just because he received something they send out ordinarily.
Positives out of the article on Rhody. It sounds like they did a great job with the OV and brought new information that excited him.
He speaks highly of all the schools.
Rhody83 wrote: ↑5 years ago
Positives out of the article on Rhody. It sounds like they did a great job with the OV and brought new information that excited him.
He speaks highly of all the schools.
Rhody83 wrote: ↑5 years ago
Positives out of the article on Rhody. It sounds like they did a great job with the OV and brought new information that excited him.
He speaks highly of all the schools.
Can you copy and paste the article here?
We generally don’t allow wholesale pasting of paywall protected content. A few relevant snippets would be OK, but let’s not abuse it. If other websites are charging for content and we are posting that content here for free, that is not a good look for us and could also potentially create some liability for us.
"If you build it, they will come." --Us, circa 2011
Hope I do not get in trouble for this, or the board, but found this on the VCU board and just cut and pasted it.
Here is the [the part of the] article [discussing Rhody]:
Rhode Island: “They came out very strong on their official. They showed me a lot of things about the future if I decided to go that program. They showed what they would do with me. I got to watch the practices, meet the players and hangout with the players so it was fun.”
Next up for Walker is taking his remaining visits to Miami and VCU.
Walker told 247Sports his current plan is to map out his college decision in the “middle of October.”
TP: Edited to include only info relevant to URI. As a reminder, board policy is to not copy and paste material that other sites put behind a pay way. It is OK to summarize, and excerpting snippets is usually OK within reason.
Pitt is the obvious leader. The staff did a good job during the visit in making Walker stop and think about it. That's all you can do. It's up to him now.
"Every season, college basketball has one or two teams that rise from dormancy to relevancy, squads that make long-awaited charges at the NCAA Tournament and become really fun storylines along the way."
Iggy1979 wrote: ↑5 years ago
Pitt is the obvious leader. The staff did a good job during the visit in making Walker stop and think about it. That's all you can do. It's up to him now.
DC_Rams wrote: ↑5 years ago
Based on the article still sounds like Pitt is the leader.
I would agree with both of these based on how the article is written. It sounds like we are closing fast though and have a fighting chance here.
I think most formed their opinion that Pitt was the lead prior to the Rhody visit and have held onto that opinion. They could be right.
I don’t believe the comments about Pitt in the article standing by themselves do anything to say Pitt is in the lead.
Pittsburgh: “Everything. They were consistent. Everything they told me over the phone, they reiterated to me in person and in my face. Being able to talk to the whole coaching staff, it was a good experience.”
My read on this is that Pitt is consistent with their message and did nothing different. No wow factor. It also sounds like that was the first time he met the staff. I would’ve thought the whole staff was involved with his unofficial visit last month and when they visited Walker.
Rhode Island: “They came out very strong on their official. They showed me a lot of things about the future if I decided to go that program. They showed what they would do with me. I got to watch the practices, meet the players and hangout with the players so it was fun.”
My read on this is that RI added new things and showed him more during the OV. This is impressive since he already had the unofficial visit in June and they have visited him often.
Let’s hope Pitt and Miami land some of their top targets and are forced to back off on Walker. URI must know Walkers timeline and adjusting appropriately so they can keep their options open while they wait for a decision. I see Cox sticking this one out and believing he can get the commitment.
Walker is Pitts top target at Foward. They aren’t backing off him.
Capel’s other top target is Wahab at Center. Wahab is going to cut his list this week. He hasn’t scheduled any OV yet.
Miami is recruiting a higer rated PF CJ Walker. Miami is a dark horse for him. They are recruiting Veron Carey (#2 overall) at C. He isn’t starting his visits until Oct 12 and will go into Nov. Duke is the lead for Carey.
i'm not trying to be critical here, but you wonder if the transition in coaches is catching up with URI. I would argue on the recruiting front nobody has worked harder then this staff. However, you wonder if other programs are scaring off our potential recruits with the lack of head coaching experience Cox has and the ability to run and develop a program. I don't doubt Cox will be an amazing coach and someone who can lead this program with continued success, but I'm concerned if this will be a down recruiting year until Cox can prove he can win. Again, not being critical of anything Cox and staff has done to this point, just think our recruits might be getting whispers in their ears that you should stay away from a program with a coach who has limited head coaching experience. I guess time will tell, but it's been a frustrating week watching so many recruits drop off the board and our top two guys we are looking at are in no rush to make a decision.
bkoeppen wrote: ↑5 years ago
i'm not trying to be critical here, but you wonder if the transition in coaches is catching up with URI. I would argue on the recruiting front nobody has worked harder then this staff. However, you wonder if other programs are scaring off our potential recruits with the lack of head coaching experience Cox has and the ability to run and develop a program. I don't doubt Cox will be an amazing coach and someone who can lead this program with continued success, but I'm concerned if this will be a down recruiting year until Cox can prove he can win. Again, not being critical of anything Cox and staff has done to this point, just think our recruits might be getting whispers in their ears that you should stay away from a program with a coach who has limited head coaching experience. I guess time will tell, but it's been a frustrating week watching so many recruits drop off the board and our top two guys we are looking at are in no rush to make a decision.
Using 247 rankings:
Of the 70 verbal commits from 1-140 there are only six that aren’t P5 + BE. 3 Zags, 1 UCONN, 1 Houston & 1 Memphis.
Nine out of ten of 141-150 have committed with 3 to nonP5s - Penn, Princeton & UCONN.
101-140 there are 21 verbals and 19 undecided
51-100 there are 29 verbals and 21 undecided
1-50 there are 20 verbals and 30 undecided
So it is still early.
It seems the trend continues to lineup for a major % of the top 150 to sign during the NLOI signing period in November.
Jeff Capel may wind up being a good hire at Pitt - he didn't really impress at Oklahoma and was forced out after some recruiting violations. Maybe things are better this time around and I am wrong but he is not taking over a strong program. Pitt does not have the luster it once had 10 years ago when it was one of the better BE teams. It will take a lot to get back to the upper half of a really strong ACC, I just don't see it happening. Success will likely look like squeaking into the tourney as the 9th or 10th ACC team because you beat Duke once that season and then getting bounced in the first round.
Capel had a good run as HC at VCU winning 79 games in 4 years and getting them to the NCAA Tournament after a 7 year absence. At OU he recruited Blake Griffin and made two NCAA appearances in five years. Griffin’s Soph year they were a 2 seed and lost in the Elite 8. After Griffin left Capel recruited two more McDonalds All Americans. The team struggled with injuries and had a losing record thst year. The fallout came from recruiting Tiny Gallon. The assistant coach resigned under rumors Gallon had been paid. Five players left because trouble was coming and they had another losing season - the end for Capel.
I do find it hard to believe that recruits buy into the sales pitch of Capel taking credit for the players he recruited and developed at Duke. Do you really think those players go there if it wasn’t for Coach K and the Duke program. Did Capel develop them ???
It seems top recruits total focus on evaluating a school is what are you going to do to help me get to the NBA. They don’t care about winning. This is their career path.
My sell for URI against Pitt is come to RI we will develop you and showcase you while you win rings and Dance in the Tournament. There is no rebuild here (like there is at Pitt).
I agree that Pitt will not be a top tier program in the ACC. They will be in the bottom half for the foreseeable future.
Rhody83 wrote: ↑5 years ago
Walker is Pitts top target at Foward. They aren’t backing off him.
Capel’s other top target is Wahab at Center. Wahab is going to cut his list this week. He hasn’t scheduled any OV yet.
Miami is recruiting a higer rated PF CJ Walker. Miami is a dark horse for him. They are recruiting Veron Carey (#2 overall) at C. He isn’t starting his visits until Oct 12 and will go into Nov. Duke is the lead for Carey.
Carey's dad played at Miami and was drafted by the Dolphins. Carey Jr grew up there. They have more than a shot at Carey.
Rhody83 wrote: ↑5 years ago
Capel had a good run as HC at VCU winning 79 games in 4 years and getting them to the NCAA Tournament after a 7 year absence. At OU he recruited Blake Griffin and made two NCAA appearances in five years. Griffin’s Soph year they were a 2 seed and lost in the Elite 8. After Griffin left Capel recruited two more McDonalds All Americans. The team struggled with injuries and had a losing record thst year. The fallout came from recruiting Tiny Gallon. The assistant coach resigned under rumors Gallon had been paid. Five players left because trouble was coming and they had another losing season - the end for Capel.
I do find it hard to believe that recruits buy into the sales pitch of Capel taking credit for the players he recruited and developed at Duke. Do you really think those players go there if it wasn’t for Coach K and the Duke program. Did Capel develop them ???
It seems top recruits total focus on evaluating a school is what are you going to do to help me get to the NBA. They don’t care about winning. This is their career path.
My sell for URI against Pitt is come to RI we will develop you and showcase you while you win rings and Dance in the Tournament. There is no rebuild here (like there is at Pitt).
I agree that Pitt will not be a top tier program in the ACC. They will be in the bottom half for the foreseeable future.
You’re right, but we can’t say that, or we can, but that’s negative recruiting (in regards to the whole rebuild).
Jeff Capel was an outstanding player at Duke, so I do believe he helped developed some players, in particular, guards. I won’t take that from him. He was still a coach and they all have their hands in the pot in some regard, or else they wouldn’t be needed or depended on as much.
Jeff is selling tickets to whoever is buying. He’s going to get some guys, and they are going to be better, I just believe Cox will be better, at a much quicker clip, here at URI.
I agree that Capel has had success. It is a lot harder to get from the very bottom of the top basketball conference in the country than anything he has ever done. Most don’t succeed but a few do. He has a huge hole to dig out of. He is a great recruiter though.
I am not sure stating to Walker #norebuildhere is much negative recruiting. I know Cox had him try on both A10 Championship rings during his OV.
Rhody83 wrote: ↑5 years ago
Capel had a good run as HC at VCU winning 79 games in 4 years and getting them to the NCAA Tournament after a 7 year absence. At OU he recruited Blake Griffin and made two NCAA appearances in five years. Griffin’s Soph year they were a 2 seed and lost in the Elite 8. After Griffin left Capel recruited two more McDonalds All Americans. The team struggled with injuries and had a losing record thst year. The fallout came from recruiting Tiny Gallon. The assistant coach resigned under rumors Gallon had been paid. Five players left because trouble was coming and they had another losing season - the end for Capel.
I do find it hard to believe that recruits buy into the sales pitch of Capel taking credit for the players he recruited and developed at Duke. Do you really think those players go there if it wasn’t for Coach K and the Duke program. Did Capel develop them ???
It seems top recruits total focus on evaluating a school is what are you going to do to help me get to the NBA. They don’t care about winning. This is their career path.
My sell for URI against Pitt is come to RI we will develop you and showcase you while you win rings and Dance in the Tournament. There is no rebuild here (like there is at Pitt).
I agree that Pitt will not be a top tier program in the ACC. They will be in the bottom half for the foreseeable future.
Kids know Duke and any connection to Duke can be a positive.
the players care about winning in that it gets them into the tournament where they get more exposure, which helps their pro chances.
You're forgetting the differences in conference. I think that matters to Walker.
"Every season, college basketball has one or two teams that rise from dormancy to relevancy, squads that make long-awaited charges at the NCAA Tournament and become really fun storylines along the way."