Stony Brook Grad Transfer, Akwasi Yeboah HAS Visited RU

[dkostus]

Given the relationship, Yeboah was going to visit whether Pike is sure he wants a grad transfer or not.

 

[RUHouston]

I implicitly and completely trust Pike. We've had signings practically up until the season and, for the most part, they've worked out. I think we're jittery because we have two 'ships open instead of the anticipated single one.

If it works out with this kid, great. If not, ok. Having too much talent isn't a bad thing and if he were to come and contribute, then all the better.

 

[knights1212]

I feel good about Akwasi. I hope he does join us at RU.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

I'd say the fact that Yeboah was on campus is a good indicator that they.want a grad transfer.

Moreover there's a certain intangible quality to recruiting momentum and turning Rutgers into a place that players want to come to. If Pikiell can't bring in guys he legitimately wants (and all indicates are he wants Yeboah) coming off an improved season with the practice facility opening... Then I think that's a legitimate concern. Not a "omg he should be fired" concern but it's not nothing.

Ultimately the recruiting class will be judged later, not now. But after holding an open scholarship last year and having two open into late April I don't think it's crazy to discuss how the recruiting strategy is working. Far as I can tell Pikiell zeroes in on the guys he wants and is relentless. Sometimes it works (Mathis, Mulcahy) and sometimes it doesn't (Hyatt, Massoud). But it's absolutely worth talking about doing things this way vs. the Seton Hall (in on nearly every transfer) or Kansas State (they cast a wide, wide net in terms of offering high schoolers, not always commitable of course) method.

The Issa thing definitely blindsided them but it's college basketball. You've always got to be ready for roster turnover.

I think you are misinterpreting the entire process. There's a facinating item with grad transfers and transfers which I get. A program that is familiar with a player or has recruiting ties to an AAU program, should consider those options.

RU has always had kids on campus reported and unreported when the guidelines allow so. If we reported on every kid that hit the RAC, heads would spin.

I believe RU has room for 2 players obviously. What I am saying is the same thing last year, I would rather invest in a grad transfer that fits the culture and doesn't require a huge amount of impact to the path of the development of the freshman or underclassmen.

Many disagreed with me last spring and we wanted a lot of names that visited and went elsewhere....and at the end of the season, it appears to me (and many others) that this past season, set the table.

We improved because of playing talented freshman and sophs. Any grad transfer has to find room at the 4 over Eugene or the 5 over Myles....or at the 4 as a compliment to Eugene or the 5 as a compliment to Myles.

I am not stating that we shouldn't have competition at positions, but we have depth for the 1st time in over a decade. Teams typically play a max of 9 or 10 kids. If Yeboah beats out Eugene or Eugene is fine as a 6th man, great....if we play small for segments of games, great.

If Eugene goes down for a 3rd year in a row, I would love Yeboah....as insurance across multiple spots.

There's a sincere lack of confidence engrained in a lot of our fanbase....a lot of it is warranted and in most cases it is historically driven.

My concerns are not regarding player development or this new revamped staff, facility, Pike or what's been done. The larger looming question is much bigger than Yeboah.

The larger question is can RU get to an NCAA level, competing with the slime, sleaze and level of competition behind the scenes, to recruit at a high enough level to sustain winning. Yeboah just fits the profile of a player without a typical price tag that comes with most recruits.

And until RU gets to the next level, will the batch of recruits with character and without a price tag, continue to pick or come to RU...or does RU eventually have to enter the rat race of the Pittsburgh, LSU'S of the world to keep up with the Joneses.

I can assure you that if we landed a Massoud or Hyatt or if other recruits at that caliber weren't steered elsewhere, we wouldn't be concerned one bit about a grad transfer.

 

[kcg88]

I think you are misinterpreting the entire process. There's a facinating item with grad transfers and transfers which I get. A program that is familiar with a player or has recruiting ties to an AAU program, should consider those options.

RU has always had kids on campus reported and unreported when the guidelines allow so. If we reported on every kid that hit the RAC, heads would spin.

I believe RU has room for 2 players obviously. What I am saying is the same thing last year, I would rather invest in a grad transfer that fits the culture and doesn't require a huge amount of impact to the path of the development of the freshman or underclassmen.

Many disagreed with me last spring and we wanted a lot of names that visited and went elsewhere....and at the end of the season, it appears to me (and many others) that this past season, set the table.

We improved because of playing talented freshman and sophs. Any grad transfer has to find room at the 4 over Eugene or the 5 over Myles....or at the 4 as a compliment to Eugene or the 5 as a compliment to Myles.

I am not stating that we shouldn't have competition at positions, but we have depth for the 1st time in over a decade. Teams typically play a max of 9 or 10 kids. If Yeboah beats out Eugene or Eugene is fine as a 6th man, great....if we play small for segments of games, great.

If Eugene goes down for a 3rd year in a row, I would love Yeboah....as insurance across multiple spots.

There's a sincere lack of confidence engrained in a lot of our fanbase....a lot of it is warranted and in most cases it is historically driven.

My concerns are not regarding player development or this new revamped staff, facility, Pike or what's been done. The larger looming question is much bigger than Yeboah.

The larger question is can RU get to an NCAA level, competing with the slime, sleaze and level of competition behind the scenes, to recruit at a high enough level to sustain winning. Yeboah just fits the profile of a player without a typical price tag that comes with most recruits.

And until RU gets to the next level, will the batch of recruits with character and without a price tag, continue to pick or come to RU...or does RU eventually have to enter the rat race of the Pittsburgh, LSU'S of the world to keep up with the Joneses.

I can assure you that if we landed a Massoud or Hyatt or if other recruits at that caliber weren't steered elsewhere, we wouldn't be concerned one bit about a grad transfer.

I agree with most of this. The really surprising thing to me this off-season has been our lack of pursuit of sit-out transfers. Pikiell has been going after them every off-season (Martin twins, Brandon Francis, Vance Jackson, Peter Kiss, Jacob Young) and because of the depth we have this is the year we'd seem to be perfectly suited to use a scholarship on somebody sitting out, or a freshman redshirting like Myles Johnson did. But that doesn't seem to be the case at all. So, we'll see.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

I agree with most of this. The really surprising thing to me this off-season has been our lack of pursuit of sit-out transfers. Pikiell has been going after them every off-season (Martin twins, Brandon Francis, Vance Jackson, Peter Kiss, Jacob Young) and because of the depth we have this is the year we'd seem to be perfectly suited to use a scholarship on somebody sitting out, or a freshman redshirting like Myles Johnson did. But that doesn't seem to be the case at all. So, we'll see.

agreed, we should have been hammering the traditional transfer route this spring. Maybe we'll still land one, who knows

 

[RU-ROCS]

I highlyyyyy suggest watching game tape on him. In particular vs south carolina. He matched up with a 7’0 260 kid and more than held his own, honestly got the best of him

Good to hear. Just surprised given his measurables. But, if he can help in the post for a year and Pike likes him, it would certainly make sense.

 

[Rhuarc]

The season has been over for a little over 3 weeks. The semester isn't over yet either. I wouldn't give up on the idea of a traditional transfer, sometimes it just takes time for things to play out.

 

[MadRU]

 

[RUsojo]

Apparently he has finished his visits with Rutgers TCU and SMU. The other two schools have accepted a lot of additional players before and during his recruitment. One of them may have one more slot but it appears things are working in Rutgers favor in that three man race.

However, there is a possibility that he will extend his search to three schools he is interested in but hasn’t planned visits too. I don’t think the longer this plays out the better it is for RU. Will the shoe drop soon in our favor?

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Apparently he has finished his visits with Rutgers TCU and SMU. The other two schools have accepted a lot of additional players before and during his recruitment. One of them may have one more slot but it appears things are working in Rutgers favor in that three man race.

However, there is a possibility that he will extend his search to three schools he is interested in but hasn’t planned visits too. I don’t think the longer this plays out the better it is for RU. Will the shoe drop soon in our favor?

Hope so. We get him I think our chances of dancing increase drastically

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

What gives you the impression that RU even wants a grad transfer or any grad transfer??

If the player isn't capable of starting for RU at the 4, do we need that player??....it's not a given that Yeboah starts at RU...and we have enough guards, because we restocked in 2018.

I don't see an urgent or pressing need for any grad transfer and a couple of grad transfers have already been recruited over (aka, the kid that picked Kentucky and Calipari immediately visited Virginia Tech PF Kerry Blackshear.

HMMMMM

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Vs illinois this year we went small ball for the final 10 minutes. Difference is, Yeboah is a better post defender and couldve bodied giorgi. That game was our best offensive output of the year

@Greene Rice FIG hmmmmm look whos been consistent

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Vs illinois this year we went small ball for the final 10 minutes. Difference is, Yeboah is a better post defender and couldve bodied giorgi. That game was our best offensive output of the year

@bac2therac @Greene Rice FIG and for those who think i magically decided yeboah was a better defender than eugene only AFTER eugene decided to transfer

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

HMMMMM

I think the post now makes even more sense....we have a starter in Yeboah at the 4...they would not have taken or recruited Yeboah if he wasn't a starter at the 4, which is clearly what happened. It just happened while Eugene was the "starter" and still on the roster. ....which could be insurance, could be competitive, could have been an upgrade. Looks right to me, now that we have Yeboah on board.