I saw him play a few times last season because of my interest in Curtis. My impression was that he was a very solid player performing in a role as maybe a fourth option on a loaded team where he wasn't asked to do too much on the court. Long, lanky and pretty athletic, certainly the possibilities will be there for him to become a much more important piece of what figures to be somewhat of a team in transition this season as NWC hits the court minus Matty and star forward Hayden Abdullah. And I would like to think that because of this his upside might be tremendous as his junior and then senior years play out. He could become one of the best in the CIAC IMO, therefore I'm glad to see this offer.
NERR has their listing of the class of ‘24 best prospects in Connecticut. Looking at the list that verbalcommits has of who we’ve offered in that class, we’ve offered 7 of the top 10 in NERR’s list — including all 4 of their top 4 prospects.
NERR has their listing of the class of ‘24 best prospects in Connecticut. Looking at the list that verbalcommits has of who we’ve offered in that class, we’ve offered 7 of the top 10 in NERR’s list — including all 4 of their top 4 prospects.
I love that the Stags are getting involved with all these Connecticut kids, something that (as we know) has not always happened in the past. This should pay dividends down the line. Of the guys on the list, of those I know something about, other then Betsey who has probably blown up too much and away from the mid-major level, I would feel very good if Tibby, Jemison, Fox or Jones (or a combination) somehow were recruited successfully. I will be watching their progress closely during the upcoming season.
Last Edit: Oct 6, 2022 8:16:55 GMT -5 by nashvillestag
While this might not deliver a ton of prime recruits right out of high/prep school and I've always kind of figured... who cares where players are from? I'd be happy with a great player from Mars. Recruiting like this could pay healthy dividends down the road in those situations where a player wants to transfer closer to home.
While this might not deliver a ton of prime recruits right out of high/prep school and I've always kind of figured... who cares where players are from? I'd be happy with a great player from Mars. Recruiting like this could pay healthy dividends down the road in those situations where a player wants to transfer closer to home.
Great point about the possibilities down the line with this aspect of the recruiting process. And BTW I agree with you, if they come from Mars but are good (or GREAT), who cares where they came from? Actually it might have seemed as if Sydney Johnson kind of tried that approach with all his Internationals (with mixed results), but still as many have pointed out, there certainly are enough dynamic players in the NE and NY Metro area that could become Stags down the road, especially since many, while not actually being from the area, are now performing for some of the best prep school programs in the whole country! Therefore the more involved you get locally the better your chances are of finding some great talent either as freshmen or later on as you suggest, as a transfer coming back home. BTW the actual NERR NE 2024 ratings have come out now. And again of those I know something about, Betsey is number 2 on the list followed by Tibby (15), Jemison (20), Fox (23), and Jones at 42. These numbers are subject to change a bit however as more good players become known as they move into the area from other parts of the country to play for one of the prestigious preps. Sum total though is Fairfield is involved with top local talent now, and that's a great thing IMO.
Post by reindeerfan on Oct 7, 2022 15:10:39 GMT -5
I was never afraid to be critical of Sydney, but I understood his idea with the international recruiting. Less competition for talent and perhaps players that might see Fairfield as a great opportunity. It didn't pan out as he hoped, I think this was more about player evaluation than approach. I agree the results were mixed, we never really had an Alex Len kind of recruit and it turns out the best players Sydney brought to Fairfield, were all players found in the US (Nelson, Gilbert, Kasibabu, Cobb, Johnson). But to the point about players leaving to get closer to home, I think Jerry Johnson's transfer was primarily for this reason, and we can look at getting closer to home as a driver for many others coming to or leaving the Stags (for example Bernie Cieplicki (going to Vermont) or Danny Oglesby (coming to Fairfield). So I agree it doesn't matter where we can find the best people but with the transfer rule changing I think its more incumbent on teams to build relationships with local players as when people are over recruited and not playing often the decide to move closer to home when they decide to transfer.
I was never afraid to be critical of Sydney, but I understood his idea with the international recruiting. Less competition for talent and perhaps players that might see Fairfield as a great opportunity. It didn't pan out as he hoped, I think this was more about player evaluation than approach. I agree the results were mixed, we never really had an Alex Len kind of recruit and it turns out the best players Sydney brought to Fairfield, were all players found in the US (Nelson, Gilbert, Kasibabu, Cobb, Johnson). But to the point about players leaving to get closer to home, I think Jerry Johnson's transfer was primarily for this reason, and we can look at getting closer to home as a driver for many others coming to or leaving the Stags (for example Bernie Cieplicki (going to Vermont) or Danny Oglesby (coming to Fairfield). So I agree it doesn't matter where we can find the best people but with the transfer rule changing I think its more incumbent on teams to build relationships with local players as when people are over recruited and not playing often the decide to move closer to home when they decide to transfer.
Yeah all great points of course. Just for the record though, even though the Stags found Kasibabu playing in Pennsylvania, the fact is he is of course from Africa. Therefore I have always thought of him as an international talent who certainly became the best one in that category that Sydney recruited.
His name is Mahoney? Maybe Jay can tell him if he commits to the Stags we'll drop the Leo D. and just call it the Mahoney Arena so that he could tell his friends we named it after him.
Barkley is a 6’8” class of ‘23 player for Putnam Science Academy.
Looking at the list of offers on verbalcommits, most of his offers are among the low to mid-major schools. However, Northwestern has offered him according to verbalcommits. I have to assume the other power conference teams on his tweet have only shown an interest so far.
One of our ‘23 offers commits to a Big Ten school.
And former Siena guard Jalen Pickett is on the preseason all Big Ten team.