2015 WYO Hoops Commits: How Are They Doing?

[WestWYOPoke]

How good are these kids if they are the #1 seed in the country???

And if they are that good, why aren't they Kentucky or Kansas or North Carolina or Duke recruits?
Am I missing something here?

Yes. #1 seed in states as in the state tournament, not the United States. They aren't in USA Today's Top 50.

 

[BeaverPoke]

How good are these kids if they are the #1 seed in the country???

And if they are that good, why aren't they Kentucky or Kansas or North Carolina or Duke recruits?
Am I missing something here?

Yes. #1 seed in states as in the state tournament, not the United States. They aren't in USA Today's Top 50.

Aaaaaaaaaah, gotcha!

HUGE difference.
Thank you.

 

[NowherePoke]

How good are these kids if they are the #1 seed in the country???

And if they are that good, why aren't they Kentucky or Kansas or North Carolina or Duke recruits?
Am I missing something here?

Yes. #1 seed in states as in the state tournament, not the United States. They aren't in USA Today's Top 50.

Aaaaaaaaaah, gotcha!

HUGE difference.
Thank you.

One note though on Oldsmar, there is a ton of high major talent on that roster:

Justin James (2015) - MWC/SEC offers

Andrew Moemeka (2015) - MWC/CUSA offers

Eric Hester (2016) - Top 100 recruit (54 in Rivals) with offers from Florida, Louisville, etc.

Dontay Bassett (2016) - High Major Recruit with offers from MWC/SEC/ACC schools including the Pokes

L.J. Figueroa (2017) - Already has some AAC/ACC offers and will probably be a Top 100/150 type recruit


They have a couple of other D-1 prospects as well (Kyle Clarke in this class).

I think it's pretty impressive that James has consistently been the leading scorer on this team. Plenty of guys that will play in big time conferences and he is leading the way. Granted, he is a senior and they are mostly younger than him, but still impressive.

 

[BeaverPoke]

How good are these kids if they are the #1 seed in the country???

And if they are that good, why aren't they Kentucky or Kansas or North Carolina or Duke recruits?
Am I missing something here?

Yes. #1 seed in states as in the state tournament, not the United States. They aren't in USA Today's Top 50.

Aaaaaaaaaah, gotcha!

HUGE difference.
Thank you.

One note though on Oldsmar, there is a ton of high major talent on that roster:

Justin James (2015) - MWC/SEC offers

Andrew Moemeka (2015) - MWC/CUSA offers

Eric Hester (2016) - Top 100 recruit (54 in Rivals) with offers from Florida, Louisville, etc.

Dontay Bassett (2016) - High Major Recruit with offers from MWC/SEC/ACC schools including the Pokes

L.J. Figueroa (2017) - Already has some AAC/ACC offers and will probably be a Top 100/150 type recruit


They have a couple of other D-1 prospects as well (Kyle Clarke in this class).

I think it's pretty impressive that James has consistently been the leading scorer on this team. Plenty of guys that will play in big time conferences and he is leading the way. Granted, he is a senior and they are mostly younger than him, but still impressive.

Okay that makes sense. So sure, they aren't all going to the Kansas-Kentucky-NC-Duke, but it's not like they are a bunch of scrubs either.

Good team, would be fun to watch them play. I am glad we got the guys we got. I think our recruiting is starting to turn the corner, I just hope to see immediate contributions. We are getting there I think. And with the amount of seniors that we had it kind of blocks playing time for the younger kids, but next year I expect a lot of sophomore and freshmen contributions. Conway-Lieberman-Washington- etc.

 

[seattlecowboy]

Just another note...

Oldsmar Christian was ranked to start the year as the #25 team in the country by MaxPreps

http://www.nbadraft.net/maxpreps-2014-15-preseason-top-25-high-school-boys-basketball-rankings-25-oldsmar-christian-fla" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also Tyrell Williams played at Monteverde Highschool in Florida last year and they are ranked #2 in the country this year at this moment and started the year ranked #1. Last year with him on the team they finished ranked #2 finishing with a 28-0 record and he played with the #1 rated high school basketball recruit in the country this year who is Ben Simmons. So that shouldn't hurt Tyrell at all playing with that kind of talent and getting the red shirt year . He could end up being a good player for us.

 

[NowherePoke]

Just another note...

Oldsmar Christian was ranked to start the year as the #25 team in the country by MaxPreps

http://www.nbadraft.net/maxpreps-2014-15-preseason-top-25-high-school-boys-basketball-rankings-25-oldsmar-christian-fla" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also Tyrell Williams played at Monteverde Highschool in Florida last year and they are ranked #2 in the country this year at this moment and started the year ranked #1. Last year with him on the team they finished ranked #2 finishing with a 28-0 record and he played with the #1 rated high school basketball recruit in the country this year who is Ben Simmons. So that shouldn't hurt Tyrell at all playing with that kind of talent and getting the red shirt year . He could end up being a good player for us.

I think Tyrell actually played at Norland HS. A pretty good program in it's own right within the state of Florida (3-time 6A state champs). He played with a couple of other good players in Zach Johnson (FGCU) and Larry McKnight (Wofford) as well as Dewan Huell, who is a Top 20 player nationally in the Class of 2016.

I didn't notice in recent games, has he been on the bench? I remember he wasn't on the bench for a game a couple of weeks ago due to "focusing on academics" which I thought was odd since it was about a week into the semester.

 

[BeaverPoke]

Just another note...

Oldsmar Christian was ranked to start the year as the #25 team in the country by MaxPreps

http://www.nbadraft.net/maxpreps-2014-15-preseason-top-25-high-school-boys-basketball-rankings-25-oldsmar-christian-fla" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also Tyrell Williams played at Monteverde Highschool in Florida last year and they are ranked #2 in the country this year at this moment and started the year ranked #1. Last year with him on the team they finished ranked #2 finishing with a 28-0 record and he played with the #1 rated high school basketball recruit in the country this year who is Ben Simmons. So that shouldn't hurt Tyrell at all playing with that kind of talent and getting the red shirt year . He could end up being a good player for us.

Wow I keep forgetting about that guy.
So he should be able to play and make an impact immediately right?

 

[JimmyDimes]

Just another note...

Oldsmar Christian was ranked to start the year as the #25 team in the country by MaxPreps

http://www.nbadraft.net/maxpreps-2014-15-preseason-top-25-high-school-boys-basketball-rankings-25-oldsmar-christian-fla" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also Tyrell Williams played at Monteverde Highschool in Florida last year and they are ranked #2 in the country this year at this moment and started the year ranked #1. Last year with him on the team they finished ranked #2 finishing with a 28-0 record and he played with the #1 rated high school basketball recruit in the country this year who is Ben Simmons. So that shouldn't hurt Tyrell at all playing with that kind of talent and getting the red shirt year . He could end up being a good player for us.

I think Tyrell actually played at Norland HS. A pretty good program in it's own right within the state of Florida (3-time 6A state champs). He played with a couple of other good players in Zach Johnson (FGCU) and Larry McKnight (Wofford) as well as Dewan Huell, who is a Top 20 player nationally in the Class of 2016.

I didn't notice in recent games, has he been on the bench? I remember he wasn't on the bench for a game a couple of weeks ago due to "focusing on academics" which I thought was odd since it was about a week into the semester.

Wondered the same thing when I didn't see him on the bench for the SJSU game. Haven't heard anything, so it is probably a case of trying to get some school work taken care of.

 

[seattlecowboy]

Actually I should edit not sure where I got that Tyrell played for Monte Verde . He actually played at Norland. My bad. Well maybe he won't be as good as I thought lol hope he is though.

 

[JimmyDimes]

Just another note...

Oldsmar Christian was ranked to start the year as the #25 team in the country by MaxPreps

http://www.nbadraft.net/maxpreps-2014-15-preseason-top-25-high-school-boys-basketball-rankings-25-oldsmar-christian-fla" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also Tyrell Williams played at Monteverde Highschool in Florida last year and they are ranked #2 in the country this year at this moment and started the year ranked #1. Last year with him on the team they finished ranked #2 finishing with a 28-0 record and he played with the #1 rated high school basketball recruit in the country this year who is Ben Simmons. So that shouldn't hurt Tyrell at all playing with that kind of talent and getting the red shirt year . He could end up being a good player for us.

Wow I keep forgetting about that guy.
So he should be able to play and make an impact immediately right?

It helped both Herndon and McM get better. I expect Tyrell to be a contributor next year.

 

[seattlecowboy]

Just another note...

Oldsmar Christian was ranked to start the year as the #25 team in the country by MaxPreps

http://www.nbadraft.net/maxpreps-2014-15-preseason-top-25-high-school-boys-basketball-rankings-25-oldsmar-christian-fla" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also Tyrell Williams played at Monteverde Highschool in Florida last year and they are ranked #2 in the country this year at this moment and started the year ranked #1. Last year with him on the team they finished ranked #2 finishing with a 28-0 record and he played with the #1 rated high school basketball recruit in the country this year who is Ben Simmons. So that shouldn't hurt Tyrell at all playing with that kind of talent and getting the red shirt year . He could end up being a good player for us.

I think Tyrell actually played at Norland HS. A pretty good program in it's own right within the state of Florida (3-time 6A state champs). He played with a couple of other good players in Zach Johnson (FGCU) and Larry McKnight (Wofford) as well as Dewan Huell, who is a Top 20 player nationally in the Class of 2016.

I didn't notice in recent games, has he been on the bench? I remember he wasn't on the bench for a game a couple of weeks ago due to "focusing on academics" which I thought was odd since it was about a week into the semester.

Wondered the same thing when I didn't see him on the bench for the SJSU game. Haven't heard anything, so it is probably a case of trying to get some school work taken care of.

Yeah you are right. Not sure why I thought that unless maybe I was thinking he played on the same AAU team as Ben Simmons or something. For some reason i read something somewhere that made me connect him to Ben Simmons but not sure what it was.

 

[BeaverPoke]

If Williams works it out, Barnes develops some offense, Herndon keeps progressing, and Moemeka can contribute, we will have a strong group of bigs that will all be freshmen and sophomores next season. So glad Herndon was red-shirted when he was, because he is going to be our main big I believe.

Hope they all stick around, because that is going to be an awesome group to watch over the next 3 seasons.

 

[ItSucksToBeACSURam]

If Williams works it out, Barnes develops some offense, Herndon keeps progressing, and Moemeka can contribute, we will have a strong group of bigs that will all be freshmen and sophomores next season. So glad Herndon was red-shirted when he was, because he is going to be our main big I believe.

Hope they all stick around, because that is going to be an awesome group to watch over the next 3 seasons.

To be 100% honest, I think we see Barnes redshirt next season. If he isn't ready at this moment to play more than the last 2 minutes of clean up time against SJSU, he isn't ready to be a main contributor. I'd rather him get another year of "stress free" experience and come back the next season a force. We all know he has the frame and the motor to be a stud, he just needs some time to put the pieces together. I just can't see it happening over a summer. I would rather go one more year without him to get 3 great seasons of potential production than him play next year sparingly as he gets up to speed.

 

[cali2wyo]

If Williams works it out, Barnes develops some offense, Herndon keeps progressing, and Moemeka can contribute, we will have a strong group of bigs that will all be freshmen and sophomores next season. So glad Herndon was red-shirted when he was, because he is going to be our main big I believe.

Hope they all stick around, because that is going to be an awesome group to watch over the next 3 seasons.

To be 100% honest, I think we see Barnes redshirt next season. If he isn't ready at this moment to play more than the last 2 minutes of clean up time against SJSU, he isn't ready to be a main contributor. I'd rather him get another year of "stress free" experience and come back the next season a force. We all know he has the frame and the motor to be a stud, he just needs some time to put the pieces together. I just can't see it happening over a summer. I would rather go one more year without him to get 3 great seasons of potential production than him play next year sparingly as he gets up to speed.

I'd be extremely surprised if he redshirts next year. Herndon and Williams will get plenty of work this off-season (although the apparent academic issues with Williams have me a little worried) but I think Barnes will come into next season ready. I don't see either of the 2 recruits at his position being instant contributors and at least one will redshirt. I think shyatt wants to have 4 available big guys on the bench, and I don't see Barnes being redshirted before 2 true freshmen.

Plus the classes will be all sorts of unbalanced, so there's that as well

 

[NowherePoke]

If Williams works it out, Barnes develops some offense, Herndon keeps progressing, and Moemeka can contribute, we will have a strong group of bigs that will all be freshmen and sophomores next season. So glad Herndon was red-shirted when he was, because he is going to be our main big I believe.

Hope they all stick around, because that is going to be an awesome group to watch over the next 3 seasons.

To be 100% honest, I think we see Barnes redshirt next season. If he isn't ready at this moment to play more than the last 2 minutes of clean up time against SJSU, he isn't ready to be a main contributor. I'd rather him get another year of "stress free" experience and come back the next season a force. We all know he has the frame and the motor to be a stud, he just needs some time to put the pieces together. I just can't see it happening over a summer. I would rather go one more year without him to get 3 great seasons of potential production than him play next year sparingly as he gets up to speed.

I thought about that as well, but I think we may need him to play some minutes. On paper we have 5 big men slated to be on the roster for next year. Both Naughton and Moemeka are coming into the program as "projects" in need of physical or skill development which makes one or both of them likely redshirt candidates. Williams is not that big (I would guess he is 6'7" max regardless of what we list him as) and Herndon is pretty slim obviously. We need some beef up front and Barnes might be our only option.

It does seem like he is the kind of player that could really benefit from a redshirt year though. He is pretty developed physically and a little bit old for his class, but pretty young in terms of basketball experience. Needs another year of D-1 practice speed to get comfortable. With his size, physical ability, and effort I think he can be an outstanding big man in the MWC if given enough time.

 

[POKE FAN]

Upcoming games:

Naughton:
Etiwanda basketball men will play home game in first round of CIF playoffs Feb. 19

http://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/sports/article_ce5a30b8-b610-11e4-b5d9-db0a600bd3f8.html


James and Moemeka:
[tweet]https://twitter.com/OCSHoops/status/567380926414725120[/tweet]

Conway:
Regular season game at Cherokee Trail (2/18/15)

Marshall:
Regular season game at Florida State College (2/18/15)
Game Details: http://www.santafesaints.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/players/morrismarshallb0eb?view=gamelog

 

[BeaverPoke]

I think Herndon will beef up and be where we want him. We don't need him to be 235 pounds like Nance. That isn't his game. He just needs to get weight back from mono, develop his game some more, add weight and get stronger. Add a few pounds to where he can play like Kevin Durant. Herndon is going to be our main big next year, and well, the next 3 years really.

 

[tweaked]

"[Tyrell Williams] didn't notice in recent games, has he been on the bench? I remember he wasn't on the bench for a game a couple of weeks ago due to "focusing on academics" which I thought was odd since it was about a week into the semester."

Often "focusing on academics" is code for other issues ... I am hoping Tyrell pulls it together--he has a great opportunity here at Wyoming with this coaching staff and I hope he realizes it.

 

[BeaverPoke]

"[Tyrell Williams] didn't notice in recent games, has he been on the bench? I remember he wasn't on the bench for a game a couple of weeks ago due to "focusing on academics" which I thought was odd since it was about a week into the semester."

Often "focusing on academics" is code for other issues ... I am hoping Tyrell pulls it together--he has a great opportunity here at Wyoming with this coaching staff and I hope he realizes it.

Ugh, I hope this isn't Keonta Vernon all over again.

 

[ItSucksToBeACSURam]

"[Tyrell Williams] didn't notice in recent games, has he been on the bench? I remember he wasn't on the bench for a game a couple of weeks ago due to "focusing on academics" which I thought was odd since it was about a week into the semester."

Often "focusing on academics" is code for other issues ... I am hoping Tyrell pulls it together--he has a great opportunity here at Wyoming with this coaching staff and I hope he realizes it.

Ugh, I hope this isn't Keonta Vernon all over again.

I was thinking the exact same thing. We could really use Keonta this season and will need Tyrell going forward. Lets hope Shyatt gets him reigned in, on track, and adjusted to the college education life.