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Papa Kante Updates

GRU23

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Jan 18, 2020
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Over at On3 there has been some news regarding Papa. He recently talked to Jamie Shaw (first article linked) and didn’t give too much of a tell to who he is thinking of. While he’s seemed to be a Michigan lean, the second article says that

“Shaw told us recently the Scarlet Knights are making a move, but he’s not ready to move them past Michigan — yet.”

Seems like Rutgers is picking up some steam. Great news for us.
 
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Over at On3 there has been some news regarding Papa. He recently talked to Jamie Shaw (first article linked) and didn’t give too much of a tell to who he is thinking of. While he’s seemed to be a Michigan lean, the second article says that

“Shaw told us recently the Scarlet Knights are making a move, but he’s not ready to move them past Michigan — yet.”

Seems like Rutgers is picking up some steam. Great news for us.
You left out one of the best parts.. I wonder who this is referring to 🤔

"His good friend, Gavin Griffiths (another 2023) pledged to Rutgers, and some of his friends are headed there, too."
 
You left out one of the best parts.. I wonder who this is referring to 🤔

"His good friend, Gavin Griffiths (another 2023) pledged to Rutgers, and some of his friends are headed there, too."
You’re right, definitely something interesting to hear as we heard in the past Dylan Harper and Tyler Betsey have talked about playing together..
 
3/14/2022
Jamie Shaw shared some thoughts on several 2023 basketball recruits and called five-star forward Gavin Griffiths, the No. 15 player in the class, a must get for the Wolverines.

 
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I have a feeling that Steve Pikiell's ethical standards for "loopholes" may be somewhat higher than John Calipari's

I think the loophole is that you can't earn the money while you're in the US and Kentucky is in the Bahamas right now.
 
I have a feeling that Steve Pikiell's ethical standards for "loopholes" may be somewhat higher than John Calipari's

I think the loophole is that you can't earn the money while you're in the US and Kentucky is in the Bahamas right now.
Doesn't Cliff have an NIL deal and fall into the same category?
 
Looks like he is Michigan's to lose based on his report of his four official visits. Wonder if the list of of the 4 schools is in order right now because he did list Michigan first.

Here's a clip of what I am talking about from linked story above...

Michigan: “I talk with Coach Juwan Howard. I have a great relationship with coach Howard; he’s texting me after every game and before games, good game or bad game. I still talk to him now, even though I’m back home (in Africa). I talked to Moussa Diabaté on the phone during my visit there. He was at pre-draft and told me how Michigan helped him to get better Coach Howard played in the league for 20 years and knows what’s takes to get there. They say they’re going to play me like they did Moussa or like Bam Adebayo. They said they’re going to let me shoot it, and they keep telling me how they will put me in a great position to succeed in life.”​
Rutgers: “I talk a lot with Coach T.J. Thompson; we have a good relationship. He’s been recruiting me for a year now; he keeps telling me he wants to coach me. Coach (Steve) Pikiell tells me how much he wants to coach me. They say they will let me play through mistakes, and if Cliff Omoruyi leaves, they will need me to come in and step up. They like how I rebound and block shots, and they will let me shoot some threes.”​
"Good" relationship with a Rutgers assistant. "Great" relationship with UM's head coach. See what I mean?
 
Looks like he is Michigan's to lose based on his report of his four official visits. Wonder if the list of of the 4 schools is in order right now because he did list Michigan first.

Here's a clip of what I am talking about from linked story above...

Michigan: “I talk with Coach Juwan Howard. I have a great relationship with coach Howard; he’s texting me after every game and before games, good game or bad game. I still talk to him now, even though I’m back home (in Africa). I talked to Moussa Diabaté on the phone during my visit there. He was at pre-draft and told me how Michigan helped him to get better Coach Howard played in the league for 20 years and knows what’s takes to get there. They say they’re going to play me like they did Moussa or like Bam Adebayo. They said they’re going to let me shoot it, and they keep telling me how they will put me in a great position to succeed in life.”​
Rutgers: “I talk a lot with Coach T.J. Thompson; we have a good relationship. He’s been recruiting me for a year now; he keeps telling me he wants to coach me. Coach (Steve) Pikiell tells me how much he wants to coach me. They say they will let me play through mistakes, and if Cliff Omoruyi leaves, they will need me to come in and step up. They like how I rebound and block shots, and they will let me shoot some threes.”​
"Good" relationship with a Rutgers assistant. "Great" relationship with UM's head coach. See what I mean?
You forgot this part. It makes a difference in the narrative.

Kante’s take​

“I don’t have a top four schools yet,” Kante said. “Any school can still jump in at any time because I’m looking for a place to help me get better and reach my goals.

“I will be looking for a family where I can call home because I’m an international student. I’ll look at where they can develop me and help me to get better on and off the court. The relationship with the coaching staff will be big.
 
You forgot this part. It makes a difference in the narrative.
Point taken, however, that doesn't change the post I made, does it? Still Michigan's to lose.

That said, plenty of things happen where even if he wants Michigan, Michigan found someone else and will move onto filling another area of need. Second place (and moving up) is pretty good.
 
It seems we still have a fighters chance for Papa.
I think we still do based on the comments in the podcast from a couple of weeks ago. I’m not going to worry about him saying good vs. great in a recruiting article. Overall his comments were positive about RU and they offer insight that our coaches have a specific plan for players when they recruit them.
 
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Interesting transparency by the coaching staff re: Cliff’s status - if anything to show in the portal era you need have a backup plan for every player to leave.
 
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Michigan had 8 top 100 HS kids last season. We had one.
Papa would be just another guy at Michigan - they'll recruit over him
He'd be special at Rutgers - everyone in the program will be focused on helping and taking care of him
Hopefully, he sees that
AND -at Rutgers, his buddy Gavin Griffiths will pass him the ball
Rutgers proximity to NYC with the largest Senegalese and largest Islamic population in the US should be big factors in Papa Kante's decision too
 
All the rankings say John Bol is 2024 as does his AAU Roster
He played with the 2023 Mokan team in the EYBL

 
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Cliff must be smart AF like Myles to graduate engineering a year early while playing D1 sports.
Cliff’s an Information Technology major; it’s in SCILS, not the school of Engineering.

Graduating early is still an accomplishment, though! It means he took advantage of all of his opportunities to take (and pass) summer classes, etc.
 
Cliff’s an Information Technology major; it’s in SCILS, not the school of Engineering.

Graduating early is still an accomplishment, though! It means he took advantage of all of his opportunities to take (and pass) summer classes, etc.
You mean SC&I (School of Communication & Information), which IT is within.
 
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This kid is 2024 while Papa Kante is 2023, but it could be a sign....
I was just going by the article - saying he 2023. Even if he's '24 - it shows Michigan is willing to recruit over him, no hesitation. Someone should show Papa Kante this
 
I have a feeling that Steve Pikiell's ethical standards for "loopholes" may be somewhat higher than John Calipari's

I think the loophole is that you can't earn the money while you're in the US and Kentucky is in the Bahamas right now.
Pike did learn form Calhoun. I am positive Steve knows what has to be done.
 
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