Sports – Men’s – Page 7

Creighton Bluejays
Class of 2009

Left to right:
Andrew Bock, PG, Rivals 4-star: 6′ 1″, 165
Darryl Ashford, SG/SF, Rivals 3-star: 6′ 4-5″, 180
Greg Allen, PG/SG, Scout 2-star: 6′ 2″, 170 (added 5/19/09)
Ethan Wragge, SF, Scout 3-star: 6′ 8″, 185
Wayne Runnels, SF/PF: 6′ 7″, 215
?? 6′ 8-10″, 250+/ The ‘Mystery Recruit’

Well, well, well. The Jays go from famine to feast in a hurry over this late signing period. Many of the faithful, including yours truly, had been a bit concerned about the lack of information on prospective recruits, and on the seeming difficulties in continuing to attract quality players to the program.

There have been myriad questions, worries, and criticisms regarding our seeming inability to land legitimate (6′ 8″ and above) bigs. On the surface of things this class should put most, if not all, of the recent concerns to bed. The question of acquiring good size appears to have been answered.

As for the quality of this class, it probably ranks 3rd behind the storied Class of 2006 and the 2007 Class. Andrew had a stellar year and earned several awards & recognition. Rivals elevated him to Top 100 status and a 4 star rating. Ethan has been consistent all year after having a breakout spring and summer of 2008, earned Scout 3 star status. Both Wayne and Darryl received recognition for outstanding Juco play this season and were Juco All Americans.

Late Spring Signer -19May09 – Added another (3rd ) guard, Greg Allen, a Scout 2 star, to the mix as the 5th scholie recruit. Greg is from Eureka, CA. He played 4 yrs on varsity @ Eureka HS. He listed as the #17 ranked player by NorCalPreps.com, in their NorCal Top 40 list.

Speculation abounds ico a 6′ 10″ mystery recruit. Still no inkling of who this ‘true’ big may be.

All of our commits are welcome additions to the team and will help bolster their given positions. All fill needed roles and will see court time in the Jays system.

All in all a great mix of experience, basketball savvy, and talent. A very good class indeed.

gtmo

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.