2014 Recruiting

Anyone seen Arkadiy Mkrtychyan play? Born in Turkmenistan but represents Armenia internationally, plays AAU for ICP Elite (with Chatman, Melson, Dorsey, etc) and HS for Columbia Christian.

His bio from ICP Elite -

"Ark” is a beast. This relentless 3/Stretch 4 is simply a power player. Whether it is thunderous dunks at the rim or bone-rattling screens and box outs, Ark flourishes in physical play. Don't be mislead, he is a consistent shooter out to NBA 3pt range, and a skilled passer and decision maker in the Pick and Roll (as both the screener and ball handler). Ark uses every inch of his 6'7” 235lbs frame to overpower and outwork opponents and can defend every position on the floor. The ultimate competitor, he will be a focal point of this year's ICP 17u Elite team on both ends of the floor. Arkadiy is under the radar out of Portland's Columbia Christian High School, but will leave his imprint on the national scene this coming season.

Pilots apparently have "interest" in Arkadiy at this point. He's got offers from Oregon State, Portland State, Seattle, Weber State, and Stony Brook.

Hmm, good find….

Playing 1A level basketball Mkrtychyan's obviously flying under the radar and not much will be written about him, but as he’s also playing AAU ball with InnerCityPlayers, he’s been seen!

ICP is sending Melson to Gonzaga, Hamilton to UConn, and Dorsey to Washington.  And we know Chatman will go big time (he’s taking his first official visit to watch the Notre Dame at Michigan football game under the lights in early September).  So that really only leaves “Ark” and Westbrook from the ICP 2014 class who have not committed….and Westbrook has also been offered by Oregon St.

Cohee committed to Seattle today. Kind of wish he went to the WCC, great talent and a good kid. I wish him the best.

joshhorton wrote:Cohee committed to Seattle today. Kind of wish he went to the WCC, great talent and a good kid. I wish him the best.

From what I know, he wanted to commit to UP, but his grades and lack of core courses in high school kept him from qualifying.

I know he's a kid UP wanted....but if coming to UP means he struggles in the classroom, it's not a good experience for the student/athlete or the school.

I think Seattle just got a really good player.

Looking at Verbal Commits' handy table of players by year and position, I think we need to use our two remaining 2014 scholarships on a center and a small forward.

I don't disagree with you about needing a C and a SF. But I do find it curious that the Pilots appear to have multiple offers in the works at every position BUT center.

It's clearly a position of need moving forward though. Makes you wonder what's in the works that we don't know about.

DeanMurdoch wrote:It's clearly a position of need moving forward though. Makes you wonder what's in the works that we don't know about.

Hard to say "what's in the works," but remember, VerbalCommits doesn't keep an eye on what goes on in Europe, and Coach Wolf just returned from two weeks in (Eastern) Europe.

Just having Riley, Thomas and Voldy being coached towards professional careers by Rev should go a long way towards inviting the interest of other big men towards UP. 

Another name to chew on - Armond Davis, a 2014 6-5 SF from Lincoln HS in Tacoma.

AFAIK there's no offer from UP but there is "interest" - whatever that could mean!

DeanMurdoch wrote:Another name to chew on - Armond Davis, a 2014 6-5 SF from Lincoln HS in Tacoma.

Excerpt from West Coast Convo's Josh Horton's interview with Davis posted on Aug 3:

How has your recruitment gone thus far?
It has been great. I’ve got some really good offers and interest from Divison 1 schools.
What schools have shown you the most interest?
Boise State, Nevada, New Mexico, Saint Joseph’s, USC, Utah State, and Washington State.
How many offers do you hold right now and from which schools?
I have four offers right now from Montana State, Northern Colorado, Pepperdine, and Seattle.
What WCC schools have been talking to you lately?
I’ve heard from Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, Portland, and Saint Mary’s.
Any Visits Planned Right Now?
I don’t have any visits planned right now.

Full article here:
http://westcoastconvo.com/2013/08/03/wcc-recruiting-q-a-armond-davis/?fb_source=pubv1

DoubleDipper wrote:

DeanMurdoch wrote:I have no idea where I saw it - and funny thing is that I wasn't even looking for anything remotely related - but the Pilots have apparently offered a 2014 SG out of Arizona. Ryan Richardson, I believe name was.

Yea, Ryan is part of a pipeline from Dobson HS in Mesa....maybe MesaPilot can steer Ryan to UP.  

Richardson is versatile and a good shooter, but best of all IMO is his length.  At 6'5" and still growing, he could be a tough matchup for some on the wing.

Richardson has committed to Weber St.

Amongst other reasons, "strong ties to the LDS community," was noted.

Hmm...a UP offer to Jack Williams showed up on Verbal Commits today. He's a PF that's 6-8, 195 from Chaminade in west Hills, CA.

Don't think this is news as it would appear that he's had an offer for the Pilots for quite some time...along with 17 other schools.

DeanMurdoch wrote:Hmm...a UP offer to Jack Williams showed up on Verbal Commits today. He's a PF that's 6-8, 195 from Chaminade in west Hills, CA.

Don't think this is news as it would appear that he's had an offer for the Pilots for quite some time...along with 17 other schools.

You're correct, DM, he's been on the radar for many months, but there was some talk he was favoring Penn OR staying in California.

I'd heard he had 12 offers....but now 17?  Wow, he must have had some very good AAU tournaments.....

NoPoNeighbor wrote:Interesting note from the pilotsbasketball.com site... John Bailey is listed as a senior.

J. Bailey is being listed as a senior in the press releases from the games in Spain, too. So, seems pretty solid that we have 3 more scholarships to give for next year.

DeanMurdoch wrote:Hmm...a UP offer to Jack Williams showed up on Verbal Commits today. He's a PF that's 6-8, 195 from Chaminade in west Hills, CA.

Don't think this is news as it would appear that he's had an offer for the Pilots for quite some time...along with 17 other schools.

Young Jack has trimmed his list....and UP is NOT on it.  Apparently still in the running are SCU, UOP, USD, UCSB, and Long Beach St.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, there had been talk he was favoring staying in California.

DoubleDipper wrote:Coach Reveno has been sighted at the Peach Jam in Georgia watching AAU teams in action....

A good kid to watch there might be Jackson Forbes, a 6-6 SF from Plano, Texas, who will be a senior this fall.  

Forbes really puts the STUDENT in student/athlete, and has picked up offers from Rice, Dartmouth, and Brown, and if I’m not mistaken, now UP.

Jackson Forbes has said NO to UP, but one has to be impressed that he's narrowed his choices to Princeton, Yale, Rice, and Temple.

With just under 3 months to go until the early LOI signing period, it's good to see recruits are starting to get serious about narrowing their choices instead of just accumulating offers.....it's not the number of offers, but the quality of the offers they should be concerned with.

DoubleDipper wrote:

DoubleDipper wrote:Coach Reveno has been sighted at the Peach Jam in Georgia watching AAU teams in action....

A good kid to watch there might be Jackson Forbes, a 6-6 SF from Plano, Texas, who will be a senior this fall.  

Forbes really puts the STUDENT in student/athlete, and has picked up offers from Rice, Dartmouth, and Brown, and if I’m not mistaken, now UP.

Jackson Forbes has said NO to UP, but one has to be impressed that he's narrowed his choices to Princeton, Yale, Rice, and Temple.

With just under 3 months to go until the early LOI signing period, it's good to see recruits are starting to get serious about narrowing their choices instead of just accumulating offers.....it's not the number of offers, but the quality of the offers they should be concerned with.

You sound a lot like someone else. From yesterday:

@CoachReveno wrote:Getting more "offers" doesn't mean you are a better player. Just means you are staying open so you can count offers. About fit, not offers.

Pilots offer to 2014 3* center Michael Humphrey (6-10, 205) on Verbal Commits this morning.

UP only has to beat out Indiana, Saint Mary's, Utah State, Oregon, Louisville, Notre Dame, Arizona, Arizona State, California, (wheeze) Weber State, Stanford, UCLA, Grand Canyon, Virginia, Vanderbilt, and (gasp) Columbia for this fella.

From Sunnyslope HS in Phoenix. Looks like he'll have to trim his list in the next little while, as having offers from 17 schools is just a little bit cumbersome.

Well hey now, here's some good news from the VC site.

As far as I can remember we haven't talked about him on here yet, but 2014 SG Gabe Vincent (Stockton, CA/St. Mary's HS) is a 3-star prospect according to Scout.com and a high 2-star prospect according to ESPN. He's trimmed his list to three, and the Pilots are on it! It's down to UP, UCSB, and Pacific.

Also had offers from Lehigh, UC Davis, Weber State, Boston U, Cal Poly, Utah State, San Jose State, Sac State.

It's easy to see why the Pilots are after him...with Thieleke and Riley gone after this year and Sharp and Carr the year after, a quality SG like Vincent is a perfect fit into the program.

edit: AND, according to his YouTube video? 3.8 GPA, 1490 on the SAT. He's almost in Zack Morris territory when it comes to the SAT.

DeanMurdoch wrote:He's almost in Zack Morris territory when it comes to the SAT.

Hmm, had to look that one up....it must be a generational thing because I don't see a Canadian connection.....

Apologies. I'll save my Saved By The Bell references for a more appropriate audience.

I got ya Dean, Saved By The Bell is right in my wheelhouse

DeanMurdoch wrote:As far as I can remember we haven't talked about him on here yet, but 2014 SG Gabe Vincent (Stockton, CA/St. Mary's HS) is a 3-star prospect according to Scout.com and a high 2-star prospect according to ESPN. He's trimmed his list to three, and the Pilots are on it! It's down to UP, UCSB, and Pacific.

From what I've learned, it has come down to 1) Gabe staying at home where all his friends and relatives can watch him play (Pacific); 2) Staying in state and going to a wonderful UC school in a great location (UCSB); or 3) Going where he has developed the best relationship with the coaching that dates back a couple of years (UP).  

His family and friends (including his girl friend) are pressing him to stay home, but my guess is he'll attend #2 or #3.  As he comes from a small Catholic high school where relationships matter, the whole UP scene may be the most comfortable for Mr. Vincent......fingers crossed.

Thanks for the update, DD.

Players I've seen commit over the past year or so - Wintering, Sharp, Zubizarreta, Gerun, Taylor, Johnson.  All six of those guys just kind of committed to UP without publicly cutting their list down to a small number of schools beforehand. To my knowledge, Gabe Vincent is the first recruit in the last couple of years to whittle his list down and keep the Pilots on it - unless I'm forgetting something?

Point is, it'll be interesting to see how long it takes Gabe to make the next step and commit!

Well, that was quick.....

From what I've been told by a Cali source, Gabe Vincent made his decision this morning and will call the coaches at the three schools today before he plays a game in El Cerrito.

Edit: apparently the calls have already been made......

I would expect we won't know anything until Mr. Vincent makes a public announcement, as the coaches are not allowed to mention recruit by name until he's signed in November.