Incoming Freshmen

[n.ogdencat]

As Weber State fans we should all be a bit excited about what the Wizard of Weber is adding to our roster for next season. Hard to believe that the Cats can get deeper and have more athleticism and talent after this season, but that is exactly where we are headed.

The only bad things that Wildcat fans have to deal with is the loss of Mook and Scotty B (one of our greatest ever), and the fact that McKay Cannon won't be suiting up for the Cats for two years. Yet, thanks to the LDS Church changing its missionary age, Cannon will be back before the start of 15-16 basketball season. For those who aren't fully aware of Cannon, many speculate that he might be the best basketball player to come out of Idaho in a really long time. One opposing coach said that he is the best basketball player to come out of South-east Idaho ever. Not bad stealing two Idaho players from the Bengals backyard. Guys who both averaged over 20+ a game as seniors and are as tough as nails. Hard worker doesn't even come close to describing these guys.

However, we do get a large dose of good news in the form of Jeremy Senglin, Richaud Gittens, Josh Fuller, and two Red Shirts (I'm not really sure about Jordan Rex, but if he is back next year, then GREAT. We can always use another 6-8/6-9 kid) who are proving how talented and ready they are to play for the Cats next year.

Jeremy Senglin is definitely a special player. If he works hard and comes in with the right attitude then he will make an automatic impact on the Cats. He is a great offensive player, but as Catcat has pointed out to me in the recent past, under Rahe it isn't necessary to find good offensive players, but to find guys who can play defense. Well, Senglin is a excellent defensive player and does the little things on the floor to help his team succeed. He is going to do some great things as a Wildcat. He will end up playing either guard position, but will, in all likelihood, be our future PG.

Richaud Gittens, due to the Senglin signing, has been somewhat overlooked, but he is a strong wing who has the ability to make the long shot, play the mid-range game, and get to the basket. He is speedy and an above average ball handler. Gittens has a knack of making the right plays at the right time. He has great floor vision and can really pass the ball. He can play either the 2 or 3 position. He does need to become more consistent from out side, but his upside is that he is a play maker.

Josh Fuller...LK is going to be kicking himself for the next four years for letting Fuller go after his Freshman Redshirt season at Utah. Fuller is a 6-8 220 big who can step out side and hit the three, bring the ball up the floor, make great passes, and can play with his back towards the basket. He is also an excellent defender and terrific ball handler. As a senior at Madison High School in Rexburg Idaho, he was able to play all five positions. He is an athletic kid, with great spring in his legs and has a pure shooters touch. His last game at Madison High he left by putting up 40 points.

Add these three to Kyndahl Hill and Duce...YIKES!! The Big Sky needs to be very worried right now.

 

[oldrunner]

I agree with you completely, Tal.

We had a great year, this year. Next year could be better. We should be an improved rebounding team and an improved defensive team. Offensively, I think we will stay about the same. We will be deeper and more athletic.

As promissing as all of that is, it is going to be a fun summer and fall, as well. I expect that we will sign three or four kids in the fall. This summer's recruiting will be intense.

 

[Webergrad02]

I do think we will miss Bamforths spot up 3's. But there is a ton to look forward to next year.

I am still wondering who else will not be on the team next year.

Are we going to see guys transferring because of the depth and lack of playing time? We have been able to recruit a higher level of player the past few years. I am not sure how many of these guys will be happy not getting huge minutes. Seems like Senglin maybe someone who will want immediate minutes.

 

[n.ogdencat]

Senglin is a mature kid, but I think he came to Weber, over the other schools that were courting him, because Weber would want to give him more mins. But, he will have to earn those mins by working hard this summer, getting quicker, shooting more consistently, and playing tough. He will also, need to know the offense as either a 1 or 2. That is a lot of information to learn. But I think he can do it. He could see 10 - 15, maybe even more, splitting time with the other guards.

I kept thinking Gelaun would be our starting 2 next year, but it is looking more and more like Rahe is going to keep him at the 1. Proof of this, is that Coach had Gelaun on the floor to close out a number of games to finish the season.

 

[oldrunner]

Richardson is a point guard. Wheelright is a 2 guard who can play at the point. Senglin is a point guard who can play at the 2. Williams is a 2-3, Gittins is a 2-3, Berry is a 2-3, Hill is a 3-4, Bolomboy is a 4-5, Tresnak is a 4-5, Hyack is a 5, Fuller is a 4, Fulton is a 4, and Zaid is a 1-?.

Did I leave anyone out? :twocents:

 

[PURPLEFORLIFE]

Who has the best recruits in the Sky? Is Weber's class the best? Who could have as good or better class than Weber?

I would suspect that Montana's is decent, but I really don't know. Does anyone have a thumb on what is happening in the Sky?

 

[WSUbball24]

Montana ... losing Cherry and Ward is huge for them, but they have a solid roster to step forward next year. New signee Dunn is a nice player ... saw him play club ball in CA. Don't know anything about Gfeller. Should be an interesting match up next year.

 

[Skippy]

Who has the best recruits in the Sky? Is Weber's class the best? Who could have as good or better class than Weber?

I would suspect that Montana's is decent, but I really don't know. Does anyone have a thumb on what is happening in the Sky?

I don't know about the rest of the league but I really like what Idaho State has done so far:

Justin Smith, 6-6 SF, won the Colorado state 4-A championship game with a three-pointer as a junior, and followed up being named player of the game in the state title game as a senior. Versatile enough to play the wing, but long and athletic enough to play inside.

Scott Tyler, 6-7, SG, out of Grafton, Wis. Played for a bad team as a junior, but was still offered by Penn State during the summer. Good all-around athlete, reminds me of a poor man's Kyle Korver. His length will be a nice addition to the top of ISU's 2-3 zone.

Andrej Slavik, 6-9, C-F, played high quality competition as a 19-year-old at a Houston prep school. He's described as a good high post player with good shooting and passing ability.

Ajak Magot, listed as 6-11 but probably closer to 6-8, C-F, out of Cochise JC. A lot like Ayibakuro Preh, who is returning this year, in that he's long, athletic, blocks a lot of shots and has a very limited offensive game.

Jeff Solarin, 6-4 F, was an all-district player in JC, somewhat undersized for a back-to-the-basket player, but has always been productive (18 points and 14 rebounds per game as a senior in high school; 17 and 9 while shooting 61 percent from the field last year in JC).

Clark Wilkinson, 6-6 F, was an all-state player at Highland High in Pocatello, will follow in his dad's footsteps at ISU after serving a two-year mission. Wilkinson is extremely athletic (there is a cool video on-line of him dunking over his 6-10 dad during a high school slam dunk competition) and he should be able to redshirt after his mission with both Smith and Tyler still just juniors and capable of filling those wing positions while Wilkinson shakes off the rust.

ISU is also one of three finalists for Smith's teammate, Jordan Scott, the Colorado 4A player of the year, and an excellent athlete as a 6-6 guard/forward. The Bengals still need another 3-point shooter and a backup point guard, and they have three scholarships left for next season.

 

[wazzuwildcat03]

Looking at all the players coming in to all the schools in the conference, it looks like on paper NAU has done a good job and has a solid class. Give NAU a couple more years and I think they will contend. There are lots of JC's guys coming which is typical for the big sky and those players are really hard to guage.
I really like the guys we having coming into Weber State. I have a good feeling about Senglin. Just a hunch on my part, but I think he is going to be pretty special. Gittens is no slouch either. He was the 4th highest rated player in all of Arizona. There is some good ballers in Arizona too. I love how Coach Rahe is able to get good high school players. I think that is key. JC's are ok, but to build a program like Rahe has done, it starts with high school. MSU always seems to have good JC players come in, but MSU seems to always struggle.
I like to go back and look at previous classes. Its funny how guys that were hightly rated ended up sucking and guys that were not highly rated ended up being all conference. Lillard was not rated all that high. His best offers other than Weber State were St. Marys and Boise State. We all know how he turned out. :rockon:

 

[oldrunner]

I think it is great that ISU and NAU are building stronger programs. It helps to have some good healthy rivalries, but it also helps that teams will not be able to take a break before playing us on the road.

 

[n.ogdencat]

Thanks for the update Bengal. I really like what Bill is doing up in Poky. He is assembling quite the team from what it looks like. He wasn't able to really utilize his recruiting ability in Cedar, because SUU had/has some really strange rules about out of state players. I'm sure ISU doesn't have those rules and it is allowing him to really open up his options. I'm not trying to be a Doosh/catcat with this statement, but I think ISU is a few classes away from getting the caliber of recruits necessary to compete for the conference title. However, they are recruiting better than a number of teams in the conference. Yet, right now that is a somewhat difficult thing to weigh, since a lot of teams are still looking and signing players. I'm going to take a stab in the dark though from past experience that most Spring signees don't pan out.

right now...I think the best recruiting classes are; recruiting for what the team needs, not the best players:
1. Weber State (I'm adding Hill and Duce into the group. Weber has a 2 PG: Cannon and Senglin (I don't know if I can count Cannon since he won't be suiting up for the Cats for two years), CG: Duce, wing: Gittens, thorough tweener (SF/PF): Hill, PF (who can hit the outside shot and play with his back to the basket. HE IS TOUGH) Fuller. C: Jordan Rex (if he stays around, but it is looking that way right now). Might get 1 more this spring...possibly a transfer.
2. NAU: Murphy is addressing the immediate need more depth. With the class he signed last year, along with their Red Shirts, and the guys he is adding this year (two, possibly three will red shirt) is a huge difference from two years ago. Adras wasn't a bad recruiter, he was a good recruiter and an excellent coach, just some bad things started to happen and things snowballed on him. Murphy is a young up and comer who knows how to get the most from his players. Yanku is the capstone to the class. But he isn't alone. Murphy has bigs, wings, tweeners, guards...he has addressed his most pressing need. Depth. Now...if the Lumberjacks don't immediately improve next year. No need to get worried. he has a lot of young players.

3. Sac

4. ISU

5. UM

6. MSU

7. UND

8. SUU

9. EWU

10. PSU

11. UNC

I got lazy and busy. I'll finish this later.

 

[PURPLEFORLIFE]

Why is Montana so low? Is it because they haven't addressed their most pressing need, signing a Big? They have some recruits visiting this weekend. I've heard a wing, a guard, and a big from Northern Idaho. But the Big isn't that amazing. He is fine and would be okay, but nothing like Ward. Dunn and Bradshaw are both excellent recruits. Bradshaw can't play till Spring semester, so we won't know how good he is till then. Their other recruit will be fine, but they don't need anymore guards. Unless Tinkle is worried that the guards he has can't compete day in and day out. UM has had a bevy of excellent players lately. Only Jamar stands out in their present group. That won't be enough to keep them at the top of the conference.

Tal, I see you still have a hatred for the cubbies. Is it for the school, program or coach? If it is toward Hill that's fine? But UNC is a decent school and Boyle did a great job getting the program up.

I think Nick Robinson is going to surprise some people with his recruiting at SUU. He is establishing a pipeline of kids from the Vegas area which isn't a bad thing. There are a lot of good players coming out of that area right now. Also, there is SOME talent in Washington county.

I'd have UND at the bottom. Quinton Hooker looks like a good player, but the Sioux didn't need to worry too much about this season. But I guess they are alright where they are. They didn't need much and they got a solid recruit.

I'd say:
Weber
Southern Utah
Northern Arizona
Sacramento
Montana
Northern Colorado
Idaho State
Eastern Washington
Idaho (this class will affect the Sky; except for Dean who transferred from Utah to Idaho. He made a good choice)
Montana State
North Dakota
Portland State (how does G keep his job)?