FWIW...Makol Mawien just committed to Kansas State. His other top choice was VCU, I believe.
FWIW...Makol Mawien just committed to Kansas State. His other top choice was VCU, I believe.
I wish just once one of these mission-bound recruits of ours would pleasantly surprise us and decommit the mission like happens regularly at BYU. I guess because we're Utah it's uncool to suggest that they have better things to do than a mission.
One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike -- and yet it is the most precious thing we have.
--Albert Einstein
The fact that life evolved out of nearly nothing, some 10 billion years after the universe evolved out of literally nothing, is a fact so staggering that I would be mad to attempt words to do it justice.
--Richard Dawkins
Be kind to all, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.
--Philo
The type of surprise I prefer is how they perform on the court.
We're in a lot better shape then we were 3 weeks ago. Kudos to Larry and the staff for a nice rebound.
We need better than Rawson when it comes to front-court players who can shoot the 3. We really need Kuzma back.
We're not going to threaten Arizona for the top spot in the league next year. We might not even improve on our fourth-place finish. But the league will be more competitive (ie, not so top heavy) and that will help us. Now, if we schedule up and not stand pat, next year could be really fun. I still insist we have to make the Dance next year to keep Larry's seat luke-warm at worst heading into 2018-19 -- a deep NIT run ain't gonna solve that.
Hear hear. IMO, Rawson has been a meaningful disappointment.
With the resurgence of USC and Stanford (top-15 recruiting class), and other P12 programs' purported highly ranked recruits, it's going to be a fight just to be in the top half. Other than WSU and Washington (temporary because of coaching), I think pretty much every other P12 programs have higher ranked recruiting class coming in. Of course, proof is in the pudding. The next three years will be very interesting.
Last edited by justaute; 04-24-2017 at 08:47 AM.
I agree. I'm glad we grabbed the two guards we got, but I don't think this looks like a tournament team without Kuzma. With him, the main holes are outside shooting and perimeter defense, which we may have addressed last week. Without Kuzma, all of a sudden there are also holes in post defense and rebounding.
Kuzma's situation looms large now. The combine is a few weeks away. I am not sure when invitations go out, but that will be a story to watch. Deadline for withdrawing is June 12.
With or without Kuz, we have an open scholarship and no one clear top need. I think we take the best player available here, be it a transfer who has to sit out, a grad transfer, a high schooler, an international player,etc.
Larry claimed that there are some guys who are waiting on Kuzma's decision before they commit anywhere. Who knows how long such a player would wait.
Since we still have 1 maybe 2 spots (depending on Kuzma) what about one of these 2 transfers?
Akoy Agau (georgetown)
Matthew Atewe (washington)
"Be a philosopher. A man can compromise to gain a point. It has become apparent that a man can, within limits, follow his inclinations within the arms of the Church if he does so discreetly." - The Walking Drum
"And here’s what life comes down to—not how many years you live, but how many of those years are filled with bullshit that doesn’t amount to anything to satisfy the requirements of some dickhead you’ll never get the pleasure of punching in the face." – Adam Carolla
Kuzma has announced he's leaving
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No news for 2017 recruits? We have two openings.
Follow @Utebuntu on twitter. He is as in the know as anyone.
Its no secret that the coaches have gone above and beyond to keep things quiet. Utebuntu won't ever give out the info he gets, but he generally does drop clues that you can try to figure out.
He hinted that a European player may be in the pipeline.
Because I follow this stuff pretty closely, I disagree that Rawson is a disappointment. Rawson just marketed himself real well. He averaged 4 points a game as a frosh on one of the worst D-1 teams in the country (SUU). He then decided to transfer. We didn't recruit him. Instead he went to JC and had a great year. But JC is a significant step down from the Big Sky. And the Big sky is even a much more significant step down from the Pac 12.
All of a sudden, because he has a nice year on a good JC team, he's in high demand. Yet, he's pretty much still the same guy who averaged 4 points a game for a bad Big Sky team. He shouldn't be a disappointment.
Maiwan just did the same thing by signing with Kansas St. He's still the same Maiwan we know.
Kids do get better. Redshirt seasons, if a kid works hard and gets some coaching, can help. Kids can also continue to mature and get stronger--especially late bloomers. But, they don't magically become a different player by going to JC. Especially because JC's are not known to work their player's hard.
Italian PG/SG Davide Moretti is taking a four official visit tour around the country. Utah gets him last. Eligible to play this year. Seems like he'd definitely be a decent get this late in the process.
http://www.scout.com/college/basketb...ke-4-officials
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We need at least one good signing for 2017. Our recruiting has been lackluster, to say the least.
2 clarifying comments. (1) I was referring to the last couple of years. (2) Not counting the mission kids in that they are 2019 to me.
And, I try to look at our recruiting vis-a-vis our P12 foes. Of course, recruiting is just a part of the overall game. The on-court result will be the ultimate judge.
btw...that's some stiff competition for Moretti's service.
He averaged 4.3 RPG in 12.3 MPG this year. That means that if he just maintains that rate, he should get 7 RPG even if he only plays 20 MPG. Jayce is not a perfect player, far from it, but there are some things that he does very well and a lot of Ute fans severely undervalue him.