Guest EagleBackr Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 Apparantly just another quiet Wednesday down at 11th and Harvard...... Spring Signing Day: Hurricane quiet while ORU inks Sango By Tulsa World Staff Reports 4/13/2006 All was quiet in the University of Tulsa basketball offices Wednesday afternoon. The Golden Hurricane coaching staff spent the day preparing for upcoming on-campus visits from recruits on the April 22-23 weekend. TU has two scholarships remaining for the 2006-07 season. Head coach Doug Wojcik has said that concentration will be focused on building depth in the backcourt. The late-signing period began on Wednesday. The Hurricane has one player already committed to the team. Jamel McLean, a 6-foot-8 forward from Bethel (Va.) High School, signed during November's early signing period. ...and up at Valpo... Late signing day quiet for Valpo April 13, 2006 By Mark Lazerus / Post-Tribune staff writer The first day of the late signing period passed without a meaningful fax at the Valparaiso men?s basketball office. No worries. Yet. ?I?m not sweating too bad yet,? assistant coach Bryce Drew said. ?In another week, if I don?t have any news for you, I might be sweating a little more. April?s a lot different than the fall. In the fall, everyone?s gung-ho. Now, people have a long time to sign.? Valparaiso has five scholarships to offer, and snagged only one player in the early signing period ? 6-foot-3 swingman Keaton Frye, from Davenport, Iowa. And even his commitment could be in jeopardy, as he weighs the option of attending a prep school next season. The Crusaders lose their top five scorers ? Dan Oppland, Ron Howard, Mohamed Kone, Seth Colclasure and Ali Berdiel ? to graduation. Still, Drew was relatively unconcerned, and expects to receive some letters of intent in the next few days. ?We have a few guys to sign,? he said. ?Hopefully, we?ll have some news in the next week. I don?t think we?re going touse all (five scholarships). We have a very strong junior class, so we want to save some of those.? Drew also shrugged off the idea that recruiting the bulk of the incoming class in the spring implies a weaker class. ?Obviously your selections are fewer, but there are a lot of quality players out there from all levels,? he said. ?There are still McDonald?s All-Americans available. Signing late isn?t a sign that a player?s not a good player. Some are just more patient.? Head coach Homer Drew arrived in Spain on Wednesday to recruit ?a few big kids,? Bryce said. He also will spend some time with his daughter, Dana, and her husband, Casey Shaw, who plays pro ball in Europe. Bryce said he didn?t expect his father to come back from Europe with any letters of intent in hand just yet. On the domestic side, there?s the issue of Frye, who doesn?t even turn 18 for about two months. Despite signing with Valparaiso in November, Frye is considering attending a prep school next year rather than go straight to college. ?We?ve been talking to him all year,? Bryce Drew said. ?He?s very young for his age. He should only be a junior in high school right now. We?ve talked to his parents, and obviously they want him to have a successful college career and be mature enough to handle it when he does get to college. We?ll keep talking with him about it, but nothing will be decided until into the summer.? SURE GLAD WE'RE MAKING SOME NOISE!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EagleBackr Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 Late signing day quiet for Valpo April 13, 2006 By Mark Lazerus / Post-Tribune staff writer ...On the domestic side, there?s the issue of Frye, who doesn?t even turn 18 for about two months. Despite signing with Valparaiso in November, Frye is considering attending a prep school next year rather than go straight to college. ?We?ve been talking to him all year,? Bryce Drew said. ?He?s very young for his age." LOL!! And I'm just short for my weight!! Hopefully, Coach "Yogi" Drew won't ask the team to line up alphabetically by height!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadAdder Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 lol, that's great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cornelius Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 This ALL can't be John Phillips fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EagleBackr Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 This ALL can't be John Phillips fault. Oh, I'm sure they'll get some good players in there eventually, and I'm sure Coach Wo will make them better. But at least, at this juncture, it's pretty obvious he's no super recruiter in the vein of a Self or a Calipari. And honestly, when they hired him, I was afraid he might be just that - a super recruiter who was the "guy behind the scenes" bringing in all the talent at Michigan State. But, with two recruiting periods at TU now under his belt, and a third one under way right now with no big signings announced, I'm simply not that impressed yet with what he's done on the recruiting front... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weatherdemon Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 Oh, I'm sure they'll get some good players in there eventually, and I'm sure Coach Wo will make them better. But at least, at this juncture, it's pretty obvious he's no super recruiter in the vein of a Self or a Calipari. And honestly, when they hired him, I was afraid he might be just that - a super recruiter who was the "guy behind the scenes" bringing in all the talent at Michigan State. But, with two recruiting periods at TU now under his belt, and a third one under way right now with no big signings announced, I'm simply not that impressed yet with what he's done on the recruiting front... He also used two different magical phrases at each of his last two stops which makes recruiting pretty easy. "I am with North Carolina" "I am with Michigan State" I stuck with JP for a long time and he really didn't do anything right. Wojcik gets until next April before I judge him too hard. right now he appears to be a great coach but a mediocre recruiter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold* Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 He also used two different magical phrases at each of his last two stops which makes recruiting pretty easy. "I am with North Carolina" "I am with Michigan State" I stuck with JP for a long time and he really didn't do anything right. Wojcik gets until next April before I judge him too hard. right now he appears to be a great coach but a mediocre recruiter. It's early for us. We signed a bunch of players in late April last year. Three recruits visit next weekend and I bet we sign two of them. Unsure if there is a third scholarship. McLean is one of the highest regarded players we've signed in years. But go ahead and keep filling in the gaps with stuff you don't know, EB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac prez Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Gold, sure you signed a bunch of players last April, and sure, you are going to sign a bunch this April, but guess what, last year's class wasn't any good, and this years won't be either! If you don't have them ready to sign on the first few days of the signing period, you aren't going to get much quality. But Gold, if you don't want to believe me, here's an example for you... Look back to your squad this year... Do you remember them?? They stunk, and they were all signed in April... Now what did you say about signing guys in April?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EagleBackr Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 See, Ghould*, this is where you lose even more credibility. Basically, you're going to defend dear ol' TU no matter WHAT they do - or DON'T do! If I'm not mistaken, none of those April 2005 signees contributed much last year, and one of them (Ashton Hall?) quit the team in the middle of the season. Time will tell, but it's obvious Coach Wo hasn't signed a Brandon Rush or Kevin Bookout or JamesOn Curry type who can be a huge impact guy right away, or even a Caleb Green/Ken Tutt who can start right away and make all-conference. And other than McLean, you haven't signed near enough good players the past two years to rival Marchello Vealy and Adam Liberty and Jeremy Hazell and Shawn King and Kelvin Sango on the ORU side. Just one decent guy in two years ain't gonna cut it! But don't worry - there's still time for our assistant coaches to trick your staff into signing some lousy players soon!! (inside joke from the TU message board...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcboy2000 Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 OMG!!!!!!!!!!! It just hit me like a ton of bricks! Jeremy Hazel, Kelvin Sango, and Adam Liberty in the backourt with Ken Tutt! I would definitely say we elevated our guard play from last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Exactly..... we have not seen a collection of tall, athletic guards in a long time. At least in the modern era of ORU basketball. We normally have had perimeter players that are 5'11" to 6'1"... if that. As a result, when we encountered teams with taller guards we were at a disadvantage: taller guards could 'shoot over' our players and we had trouble getting a shot off against the length of out opponents. It remains to be seen how good these players are; the competition at practices should help to hone their collective skills. I'm glad to hear that several of the players seem to pride themselves in playing defense. That speaks to a well-rounded game and dedication. Defense takes effort and is not always appreciated by fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU Eli Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 When are we signing the OKC kid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 We signed him yesterday (April 13th).... http://orugoldeneagles.com/index.php?url_channel_id=2&url_subchannel_id=&url_publish_channel_id=4270&well_id=2&PHPSESSID=8842a6baa2cdecf59c556b9071b1b46e Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orustatboy Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Looks like Valpo finally had a fax come through . . . Crusaders Add 7'1" Calum MacLeod Valparaiso Head Men?s Basketball Coach Homer Drew today announced Calum MacLeod of Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo. has signed a National Letter of Intent for the 2006-07 season. ?We?re very excited to make Calum a part of the Valpo program,? Drew said. ?He?s a very skilled center with the ability to step out and score from the perimeter, and a good student who comes from a wonderful family.? MacLeod, a 7?1?, 245 lbs. native of Wellington, New Zealand, will have two years of eligibility remaining. At Northeastern Junior College, MacLeod helped the Plainsmen to a 30-4 record, second best in program history, and a berth in the Region IX Championship Game. In 34 games, five starts, MacLeod averaged 5.7 points and 3.4 rebounds, shooting a team-leading 56.8% from the field. As a freshman, MacLeod attended Gonzaga University, appearing in nine games for the Bulldogs, who won the West Coast Conference and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. MacLeod arrived at Gonzaga at age 20 after playing for the New Zealand Junior National Team, the Tall Blacks, and competing against players like Andrew Bogut, the number one pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. MacLeod attended Hutt Valley High School in Wellington, leading his team to a National Tournament Title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Gotta be impressed with a kid that is 7'1", but it is interesting that he only started 5 games and averaged just 5.7 points and 3.4 rebounds. Not many rebounds for a big guy. I guess it depends on how many minutes it took for him to get those averages. Maybe his juco team was loaded with talent. Sounds like Denver was the only other school pursuing him. You can't coach height.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TUPond Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 I never thought I'd be hearing trash talk from Golden Beagle fans talking about how their players are better than ours. You might as well enjoy all the talking you can for now cause you know we'll be back very soon and once again be one of the top programs in the nation. I laugh every time I hear you Beagles talk about Caleb Green and Ken Tutt like they're the greatest Bball players of all time. Truth is, we've had better players than them in the past. You cant tell me that Green could take Kevin Johnson 1 on 1. KJ could score in and out and had twice the hops of Green. Same thing with Tutt, Dante Swanson would dunk all over him as he could dunk, slash, and shoot the 3. Tutt barely can touch the rim. My point in all this is that TU has not got it done in recruiting and while you guys have signed some good players, our recruiting has gone downhill a bit. Don't count out Woj yet. He got the best of what was left last spring and signed a future star in McLean so don't worry Beagle fans, TU will be back and better than ever, count on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasgrip Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 I never thought I'd be hearing trash talk from Golden Beagle fans talking about how their players are better than ours. You might as well enjoy all the talking you can for now cause you know we'll be back very soon and once again be one of the top programs in the nation. I laugh every time I hear you Beagles talk about Caleb Green and Ken Tutt like they're the greatest Bball players of all time. Truth is, we've had better players than them in the past. You cant tell me that Green could take Kevin Johnson 1 on 1. KJ could score in and out and had twice the hops of Green. Same thing with Tutt, Dante Swanson would dunk all over him as he could dunk, slash, and shoot the 3. Tutt barely can touch the rim. My point in all this is that TU has not got it done in recruiting and while you guys have signed some good players, our recruiting has gone downhill a bit. Don't count out Woj yet. He got the best of what was left last spring and signed a future star in McLean so don't worry Beagle fans, TU will be back and better than ever, count on it. Yo TUPuddle - You make a point (a bad one) and then contradict it. You must have gone to TU. First of all, no one (but you) is comparing past players with current ones. How does that help? Of course TU has had better players that our current greats...so have we. Secondly, no one is discounting your current coach. Obviously he'll need a couple of years to fix the mess he inherited. And lastly, we all expect TU to be back and better...there's really no other direction to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Kevin Johnson and Dante Swanson were good players... and had different skill sets than Green or Tutt. I would argue that Green is better than all of them.... his stats would prove that out I think. But it is a matter of dispute. There is no question that ORU's level of athlete over the last several years has out-classed TU. The Hurricane have had trouble in player evaluation & recruiting which resulted in a dearth of talent. It appears that the situation will remain that way for the immediate future. Past results are not necessarily an indicator of future performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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