The Road Ahead in CU Basketball Recruiting: 2009 – 2012.
For the most part the recruiting season for the 2009 year seems ‘in the bag’. The Jays have scored heavily in the spring season, after a slow, but what proved to be a Giant Step forward last fall. Early signings by much improving Scout 3-star SF Ethan Wragge and what proved to be the ‘Great Get’ of Rivals 4-star PG Andrew Bock, more than offset early misses on Cougill, Creekmur, Henderson, Honeycutt, Marshall, A. Stover, & Royce White in the 2009 Class, as well as Larson in the 2010 Class.
The spring signings include: Juco AA PF/SF Wayne Runnels, Juco AA/HM SG Darryl Ashford (Rivals 3-Star), and PG/SG Greg Allen (2-star). The Jays also added two Walkons for 2009 in Creighton Prep star PG Taylor Stormberg and NU transfer/Westside HS standout PG Ross Ferranini.
The Jays entertained other recruits over the season, including some sought after ‘bigs’, however, the above signees are the extent of the class for now. Many of the faithful are still disappointed in not landing a ‘true big’ or two, as the common opinion is that is where we really need the help. This belief has increased in size & proportion since the untimely departure of KW. Where do we go from here?
Last year we brought in 2 guards, 1 SF/SG, and 2 w/o’s (1 PF/1SF). This season we bring in 2 PG, 1 SG, 1 SF, 1PF, and 2 w/o’s (both PG’s). For my purposes here I will count JC as a SF.
2008 – 2 PG/SG – 1 SF – 2 walk-ons (SF & PF)
2009 – 2 PG – 1 SG – 1 SF – 1 PF – 2 walk-ons (2 PG)This totals 3 SF’s, 2 PF’s, and 7 guards…incl the 4 walk-on players.
How does this affect Jays recruiting up the road? It becomes readily apparent that we will not be looking at many (if any) guards the next year or two. With the four guards currently on the team (2 Jr, 1 So, and 1 R-Fr) we should be good to go at the guard spots with 9 players (7 scholie – 2 w/o). Although many here expected to concentrate on bigs this recruiting season – and although we went after a few good ones, the efforts did not bear fruit. 2010 should prove to be the year we make a major effort to land a few big men. Several are on the CreightonJoey Recruiting Matrix.
http://bluejaybasketball.wordpress.com/jay-recruiting/I have updated my Hit/Miss table using CJ’s Recruit listings, which are much more palatable, (and in BJC-speak) more ‘realistic’ than the recruit listing I use (a more national & WC flavour). Kids we have offered are in Bold, others in regular type. Parentheses ( ) indicate BCS interest. I have intentionally left the 2010 guards off this table, with exception to the one who has been offered – as the premise here is to focus on the 2010 PF and Ctr positions. Barnes is added for 2010 – because he is a local and in our target area. All CJ recruits are listed for 2011 onward. I added Strickland and Ellis in 2012 as they are in our traditional target areas. I have guessed that the coaching staff will attempt to spread/use 2011 scholies creatively in 2010 and will hold a few for use in 2012.
Category: Div 1 Basketball – Recruiting
Feinberg Academic All-America Classic
The 1st Annual Feinberg Academic All-America Classic was held on 7 – 11 May, 2009, at the Citizen’s Bank Arena, in Ontario, CA. Creighton’s Andrew Bock was among the invitee’s.
AB won the 3pt Shooting contest. His West team also won their 10 May contest over the East squad. Bock outplayed fellow LA area PG Darius Morris of Windward Prep (Michigan signee), and 4 players of his West squad scored in double figures.
Squads / Rosters http://www.aaa-classic.com/
Results as posted – ESPN’s CalHiSports.com
The East got as close as four points at 79-74 with four minutes to play, but could get no closer as the West’s Reeves Nelson (Modesto Christian) helped his team take control with his all-around play on both ends. Nelson led a 8-0 mini-spurt that gave his team a 87-75 and sealed the win for the West All-Stars. The UCLA-bound Nelson finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals. He was named the game’s most outstanding player.
“We knew we were bigger and wanted to get out and fast break,” Nelson said about the West team’s 55-46 rebounding advantage. “I was a little rusty at the beginning of the season (because of my football injuries), but I’ve was getting back my timing in the last few weeks. I feel like I’m getting better every day.”
In addition to Cunningham and Nelson, the West All-Stars also got a solid performance from first team all-stater Andrew Bock (Eisenhower, Rialto), who also won the three-point contest. The Creighton-bound guard made two of three three-point attempts and finished the game with 14 points. Morris’ Windward teammate, UCLA-bound Anthony Stover, played for the victors and was the team’s fourth player in double digits, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Was a comprehensive and excellent program for the athletes and families, which was presented for this 1st annual event. Kudos to the Feinberg organization.
Bluenotes 