According to Smock, our season is officially over. So with that, I thought I'd do my best Bleeds impression (basketball style of course) and create a way-too-early thread previewing the semi-immediate future of Herd basketball. None of this information is new or exactly earth shattering as it has all been previously discussed on the board at some point, but I just figured I would compile it all into one place...
2016:
As it stands right now, we have signed Phil Bledsoe and Jannson Willams to fill the open scholarships of Justin Edmonds and James Kelly. I know there is speculation of other possible departures to free up some more roster space, but it's too early to tell right now. So with that, we could easily see a new face or two in addition to Bledsoe or Williams. Some popular names to join the team next season in some way may be Levi Cook and Ky're Allison (2016 stud PG from Portsmouth) among others. There is also some smoke that another grad transfer may in be in the mix as well. Again, this is all speculation, so for now I'm just going to profile our certainties (assuming Bledsoe is a certainty) and we'll cross the potential additions bridge if/when we get to it.
Phil Bledsoe - Wheeling WV
6'6 200 lbs.
Senior Stats: 23.3 PPG; 14.3 RPB
Senior Highlights:
Jannson Williams - Newnan, GA
6'9 175 lbs.
Senior Stats: N/A (not a lot of information available out there about him). Most accounts on Google describe him as a big who has Dan's requisite all around game. I've read the words "versatile" and "steal" when it comes to Williams. I'm looking forward to seeing what he brings to the table.
Summer 2015 AAU Highlights:
2017:
IMO this is a huge recruiting class and could really make or break Dan's legacy here. We will have three scholarships available once Taylor, Browning and Loop move on after next season. We have targeted some studs across WV to come in and fill those voids and it will be interesting to see how that plays out over the next year or so. In full disclosure, I really hope Dan has a few viable backup plans if we don't land these guys. As you can see from the interest/offers that some of these kids are drawing, we'll be lucky to land any of them. IMO, our best bet is obviously Frampton due to his brother being on the team already, but I believe its far from a lock.
Prime Targets:
Luke Frampton (Poca, WV) 6'4 200 lbs. -- Offers: MU, JMU, Texas Tech, Winthop; UVA w/ strong interest
Elijah Cuffee (Poca, WV) 6'4 180 lbs. -- MU offer; Liberty commit
Jarrod West (Bridgeport, WV) 5'11 165 lbs. -- Offers: MU, JMU, ECU, Liberty, Longwood; Michigan and Vanderbilt w/ strong interest
Chase Johnson (Ripley, WV) 6'7 190 lbs. -- Offers: MU, Ohio, Winthrop, Duquesne, Richmond, High Point, and Longwood; WVU with strong interest. Projected "high major" by some recruiting services.
Dan is also showing some interest in other 2017 recruits around the state as, what I would possibly assume, potential backup plans. 2017 St. Joe guards Keith Clemons and D'Aundra Murphy have been unofficial visitors this season. I'm sure there are others in the mix too.
2018 and 2019:
Considering the 2018 and 2019 classes are freshman and sophomores and not even halfway through their high school careers it gets a little muddier here, but there are still some early names to watch. These guys were named in an earlier thread of visitors to the WKU game earlier this season. 2018 player Jeremy Dillon, 6'4 185 lb. guard (Tug Valley, WV) is a name to watch. He is an athletic kid and two-sport athlete - may be another Stevie Browning type-talent. There are a couple other two sport athletes in the 2019 class too. Kerry Martin Jr. (Charleston, WV) and Tanner Holden (Wheelersburg, OH) both visited campus as freshmen this year. Martin is a 6'2 guard who started and played well all season long for Capital this year. If Dan wants to land Martin then I think his biggest competition might be Doc. I know WVU fans are already salivating at the thought of landing Martin. Tanner Holden is a 6'5 160 lb. guard who is apparently a Top 30 2019 recruit in Ohio. He is also the son of Herd HOF'er Rodney Holden. I think we can all agree he would be huge to land.
Side notes:
(1) If you're a basketball fiend and March Madness isn't enough for you then I highly recommend taking in the WV State Tournament next week. A lot of the aforementioned named kids are playing in addition to some other great D1 caliber talent. A quick cursory count gives me at least 10+ D1 caliber players in the 24 teams across the A-AAA fields. In the past, NHFS Network has provided live streams to every quarterfinal and semifinal game for like $10 (a monthly fee you can then cancel) and WV Metro News has streamed all title games for free. Both streams are much better than CUSA All-Access FWIW.
(2) I would also like to add a special thanks to Rivals and its auto save feature. I accidentally closed my window after I had typed about 85% of this and thought I lost it all. Tears were almost shed and you wouldn't be reading this thread without it.
2016:
As it stands right now, we have signed Phil Bledsoe and Jannson Willams to fill the open scholarships of Justin Edmonds and James Kelly. I know there is speculation of other possible departures to free up some more roster space, but it's too early to tell right now. So with that, we could easily see a new face or two in addition to Bledsoe or Williams. Some popular names to join the team next season in some way may be Levi Cook and Ky're Allison (2016 stud PG from Portsmouth) among others. There is also some smoke that another grad transfer may in be in the mix as well. Again, this is all speculation, so for now I'm just going to profile our certainties (assuming Bledsoe is a certainty) and we'll cross the potential additions bridge if/when we get to it.
Phil Bledsoe - Wheeling WV
6'6 200 lbs.
Senior Stats: 23.3 PPG; 14.3 RPB
Senior Highlights:
Jannson Williams - Newnan, GA
6'9 175 lbs.
Senior Stats: N/A (not a lot of information available out there about him). Most accounts on Google describe him as a big who has Dan's requisite all around game. I've read the words "versatile" and "steal" when it comes to Williams. I'm looking forward to seeing what he brings to the table.
Summer 2015 AAU Highlights:
2017:
IMO this is a huge recruiting class and could really make or break Dan's legacy here. We will have three scholarships available once Taylor, Browning and Loop move on after next season. We have targeted some studs across WV to come in and fill those voids and it will be interesting to see how that plays out over the next year or so. In full disclosure, I really hope Dan has a few viable backup plans if we don't land these guys. As you can see from the interest/offers that some of these kids are drawing, we'll be lucky to land any of them. IMO, our best bet is obviously Frampton due to his brother being on the team already, but I believe its far from a lock.
Prime Targets:
Luke Frampton (Poca, WV) 6'4 200 lbs. -- Offers: MU, JMU, Texas Tech, Winthop; UVA w/ strong interest
Elijah Cuffee (Poca, WV) 6'4 180 lbs. -- MU offer; Liberty commit
Jarrod West (Bridgeport, WV) 5'11 165 lbs. -- Offers: MU, JMU, ECU, Liberty, Longwood; Michigan and Vanderbilt w/ strong interest
Chase Johnson (Ripley, WV) 6'7 190 lbs. -- Offers: MU, Ohio, Winthrop, Duquesne, Richmond, High Point, and Longwood; WVU with strong interest. Projected "high major" by some recruiting services.
Dan is also showing some interest in other 2017 recruits around the state as, what I would possibly assume, potential backup plans. 2017 St. Joe guards Keith Clemons and D'Aundra Murphy have been unofficial visitors this season. I'm sure there are others in the mix too.
2018 and 2019:
Considering the 2018 and 2019 classes are freshman and sophomores and not even halfway through their high school careers it gets a little muddier here, but there are still some early names to watch. These guys were named in an earlier thread of visitors to the WKU game earlier this season. 2018 player Jeremy Dillon, 6'4 185 lb. guard (Tug Valley, WV) is a name to watch. He is an athletic kid and two-sport athlete - may be another Stevie Browning type-talent. There are a couple other two sport athletes in the 2019 class too. Kerry Martin Jr. (Charleston, WV) and Tanner Holden (Wheelersburg, OH) both visited campus as freshmen this year. Martin is a 6'2 guard who started and played well all season long for Capital this year. If Dan wants to land Martin then I think his biggest competition might be Doc. I know WVU fans are already salivating at the thought of landing Martin. Tanner Holden is a 6'5 160 lb. guard who is apparently a Top 30 2019 recruit in Ohio. He is also the son of Herd HOF'er Rodney Holden. I think we can all agree he would be huge to land.
Side notes:
(1) If you're a basketball fiend and March Madness isn't enough for you then I highly recommend taking in the WV State Tournament next week. A lot of the aforementioned named kids are playing in addition to some other great D1 caliber talent. A quick cursory count gives me at least 10+ D1 caliber players in the 24 teams across the A-AAA fields. In the past, NHFS Network has provided live streams to every quarterfinal and semifinal game for like $10 (a monthly fee you can then cancel) and WV Metro News has streamed all title games for free. Both streams are much better than CUSA All-Access FWIW.
(2) I would also like to add a special thanks to Rivals and its auto save feature. I accidentally closed my window after I had typed about 85% of this and thought I lost it all. Tears were almost shed and you wouldn't be reading this thread without it.
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