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***RHoops Commit at New School***

Just curious -
Rutgers Hoops commit Issa Thiam is a verbal commit - but (correct me if this is wrong) he is yet to be an 'officially signed commit' ....
which leads to various questions - is he still mulling over different options? .... is Rutgers mulling ? .... are there eligibility questions to be resolved (linked or not linked to the school changes)?
... or is everything all just fine and the process of making the commitment 'official' is just a minor detail that will be attended to at some convenient time?
 
So if he's a 2016 and just transferred, does that mean he is reclassifying? I would assume he'd be done with high school in less than a month.
 
In his article on the 4 staff announcements Carino mentioned that Thiam opened his commitment but RU is still trying to woo him. Not sure how up to date that is or whether we're still in play.
 
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OK, so here's the basics on Issa:

Issa Thiam
.
Birthday: 10/3/96; Class: HS Senior; Ht: 6-8; Wt: 190; Hometown: Dakar, Senegal;


and here are the institutions that he has been associated with for the past 2-3 years - -

Canarias Basketball Academy
, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain
http://www.si.com/college-basketbal...ruiting-canarias-academy-minnesota-seton-hall

Coastal Academy , Belmar, NJ
http://www.nj.com/rutgersbasketball...nd_hoops_how_a_nj_basketball_academy_fel.html

Arlington Country Day School, Jacksonville, FL
http://jacksonville.com/sports/high...eams-caught-middle-arlington-country-day-ncaa


He may be smart as a whip and maybe he got 800's on all sections of his SATs or 36 on his ACT & has all of his credentials in order .... maybe he fully met all of his academic standards / requirements last year and has essentially been doing a "PG year this year
....but if he has been an undistinguished / basic student - One has to pause and wonder - with all of the challenges that are present in the qualifying process, and with the many options that might be available, why get linked up with these institutions? it would seem like attaining the NCAA's full blessing and being pronounced to be a "Qualifier" to begin play this fall might just be ... slightly "iffy" ... who knows ...


Certainly hope it all works out - and most importantly, hope it all works out without having to endure jumping through hoops & investing time & energy in bureaucratic entanglements.
 
Naive question ... who pays for/underwrites the travel and school and housing expenses for this Senegal native? Are his parents in the US?
 
Born in 1996!!! This kid should be finishing up his sophomore year in college by now!
 
Born in 1996!!! This kid should be finishing up his sophomore year in college by now!
- to be fair - his birthday date is:
October 3, 1996 - so, with an October birthday - in many many parts of the US he would probably have ended up as a member of the high school class of 2015
All things would be about right if - if he has been doing a PG year this past year .
 
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So a couple months before graduation, and during the basketball offseason, a recruit transferred to a basketball factory high school, which has had major NCAA clearinghouse issues, and failed to qualify its two top prospects last fall. I'd say this development makes it highly unlikely we see this player at Rutgers.

My guess is he wasn't going to graduate where he was, so he is transferring there and re-classifying. If he was on track to graduate and clear NCAA this move makes less than zero sense. He had a full ride to college already.
 
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So a couple months before graduation, and during the basketball offseason, a recruit transferred to a basketball factory high school, which has has major NCAA clearinghouse issues, and failed to qualify its two top prospects last fall. I'd say this development makes it highly unlikely we see this player at Rutgers.

My guess is he wasn't going to graduate where he was, so he is transferring their and re-classifying. If he was on track to graduate and clear NCAA< this move makes less than zero sense. He had a full ride to college already.


"a recruit transferred to a basketball factory high school," - it appears that to one degree or another - that has been the kind of institutions that he has been attending for some time.

I'd be delighted to entertain a different perspective on all of this - but so far, any way that this puzzle is put together, it makes for a pretty grim picture .
- unless he had already fulfilled all of the items on the NCAA punch-list and was only in need of some maturation & maybe a minor requirement that is being fully secured despite the dubious institutions.
 
@Russ Wood , Do you have insight into Issa Thiam going down to Florida for school and playing for Jacksonville Warriors AAU team ? Is there a specific college in Florida with strong connections to the HS and/or AAU team?
 
Guys...you are way over thinking this!

It IS a bit convoluted, but in a way a very simple solution exists. We still have a shot. Eligibility isn't a concern given my understanding of the situation.

I'm looking for more definitive news in the next few days.
 
Guys...you are way over thinking this!

It IS a bit convoluted, but in a way a very simple solution exists. We still have a shot. Eligibility isn't a concern given my understanding of the situation.

I'm looking for more definitive news in the next few days.

Thanks BK. Look forward to your insight on this one. I like Thiam a lot.
 
- to be fair - his birthday date is:
October 3, 1996 - so, with an October birthday - in many many parts of the US he would probably have ended up as a member of the high school class of 2015
All things would be about right if - if he has been doing a PG year this past year .

my birthday is Oct 3 as well (a few years earlier though lol). I missed enrollment by those 3 days! That wasn't so bad when I was the first in my class to drive to school in my 1966 Olds Convertible muscle car and bar tended my entire senior year of high school! (18 in 1977) [cheers]

hell back then you could sign yourself out of school if you were 18 and since I was early accepted at RC I hardly went the full spring. (which I can NEVER EVER tell my kids!)
 
So a couple months before graduation, and during the basketball offseason, a recruit transferred to a basketball factory high school, which has had major NCAA clearinghouse issues, and failed to qualify its two top prospects last fall. I'd say this development makes it highly unlikely we see this player at Rutgers.

My guess is he wasn't going to graduate where he was, so he is transferring there and re-classifying. If he was on track to graduate and clear NCAA this move makes less than zero sense. He had a full ride to college already.


pretty much agree, there is no real way to spin this as a postive development, hey it may work out but working out isnt the likely scenerio here. I am glad though with Pikiell moving forward we will not be taking the risky chances that the Jordan staff had to take to get recruits even to visit
 
Canarias Basketball Academy is becoming a hot spot of RU recruiting during the past 3 or so years. Who woulda ever thunk it?
 
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@Russ Wood , Do you have insight into Issa Thiam going down to Florida for school and playing for Jacksonville Warriors AAU team ? Is there a specific college in Florida with strong connections to the HS and/or AAU team?
I have never heard of the Jacksonville Warriors. The major players in Florida AAU basketball are based in Orlando, Tampa and South Florida.

Richie and I were texting yesterday about Thiam being at Arlington Country Day in Jacksonville. That's troubling. I'm now officially concerned about Thiam getting thru the NCAA Eligibility Center.
 
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Gotta like this tidbit from the On The Banks article:

"Sa joins New Jersey first team all-state guard Matt Bullock and most likely Issa Thiam, as commits for next season. Thiam reopened his recruitment after committing under Eddie Jordan, but the thought is he will ultimately sign with Rutgers. With the expected return of Corey Sanders, this would leave Rutgers with three open scholarships for next season."
 
Really would be delighted to hear that everything comes together with Issa Thiam - that his academics are absolutely a non-issue, that he really has it all together & will smoothly obtain clearance from the NCAA Eligibility Center.
 
Florida has 8 players on their roster 6'8" or taller. At Florida, solid practice time, little actual playing time, and easy to borrow clothes. Rutgers ... serious actual playing time, living in the most diverse part of the country. Only NYC, NJ, and Chicago have significant Senegalese American populations.
 
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Florida has 8 players on their roster 6'8" or taller. At Florida, solid practice time, little actual playing time, and easy to borrow clothes. Rutgers ... serious actual playing time, living in the most diverse part of the country.

Lol at easy to borrow clothes.....good one
 
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