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Post by lmu2015 on Jan 2, 2016 16:25:13 GMT -5
Currently we have comittments from 6'8" 190lb Joshua Sykes and 6'4" 190lb G/F Donald Gipson. Sykes is an athletic forward who can hopefully contribute coming off the bench. Similar to Mornar as far as size and athleticism except not a shooter, but better on defense. Gipson is a good defensive player with a solid three point shot. He is coming back from a partially torn acl and is off to a solid start as he just won MVP of the under armor holiday classic. Here is a link for some additional names LMU is recruiting: www.verbalcommits.com/schools/loyola-marymountNames not on this list include big man Jabari Craig, a current JUCO player who is currently taking an official visit to LMU. He committed to USC out of high school but then wasn't academically eligible. The following is a video of him from high school at the pantos all American camp:
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Post by lmu2015 on Jan 2, 2016 16:34:24 GMT -5
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Post by LIONS90045 on Jan 2, 2016 18:31:24 GMT -5
How is it that "high major"recruits are not starters for their JUCO teams? Isn't that curious? They must have great up side, eh? I only know what I read here.
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Post by lmu2015 on Jan 2, 2016 20:05:34 GMT -5
Sykes got it from having a big summer, I'd say Craig is carry over from high school. Either way it is a little worrisome, but not uncommon with guys who are tall and athletic. You are 100% correct when you say it is based off their upside.
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Post by thx4leavinjimlynam on Jan 3, 2016 2:17:07 GMT -5
Jacko's sophomore stats are not "eye-popping", either. www.foothillconference.com/sports/mbkb/2013-14/players/adomjackopfju?view=gamelogAs a freshman, he averaged 4.5 ppg and 2.9 rpg. His senior year in high school, he averaged 13.4 points per game. I love Jacko. Jacko has one of the best "NBA bodies" of any LMU 4 or 5 post player in the last 40 years (only other two that come to mind are Ime Odouk and Peter Cornell...Knight and Gathers were great post players, but did not have NBA power forward bodies...Jacko does, and we are lucky to have him). What I'm trying to say is, maybe Sykes/Craig/etc don't have great JC numbers, but maybe they have NBA bodies. Sykes' looks very thin, so maybe not, but Sykes' rebound numbers are right in line with Jacko, and he averages 6 blocks per 40 minutes. He does not appear to be Jacko on offense, but very few players are. As for Gipson, if he is a legit 6'4", that is a big-time shooting guard. In addition, I like the fact Dunlap offered him even before he had recovered from the ACL injury...Dunlap was an assistant for LMU in the early 1980s when the coaching staff gave Mike Yoest a scholarship despite a serious high school knee injury. Yoest ended up being a 3-year starter and 1,000-point scorer for the Lions. Is Dunlap perfect? No, as I pointed out I think Mornar needs more minutes. But Jacko is a legit post player, something we haven't had since Matt Knight, and a NBA-type body we haven't had in 20 years (forgive me if I'm forgetting someone). Brown is a big-time guard, granted he doesn't have next-level size, but Dunlap is bringing in better basketball players. Now, as mentioned by others, we need to build a "winning culture". We need a big with the other scholarship. With Brown, Tutu, McClendon, Gipson, Hayes we are in good shape for next year in the backcourt and can worry about another guard for 2017-18. Definitely need a big this spring. I just saw that Evan Battey tweeted the other day that we offered him. He is a high school junior...6'6", 250 pounds. Great numbers from his freshman and sophomore years, but I don't see any junior year stats. Does anyone know more about him? Looks like he would be a fantastic get. www.maxpreps.com/athlete/evan-battey/BeS1GlJREeOzMAAmVebBJg/gendersport/basketball-stats.htmGo Lions!
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Post by pumpfake on Jan 3, 2016 13:24:30 GMT -5
Nice find on Battey. He transferred to Villa Park (Drew Viney's school I believe) and is doing very well. In the following article he lists Fairfax's Donald Gibson (an LMU recruit) as the opposing player he respects the most. It also references 27 points per game average. ocsidelines.com/boys-basketball-player-of-the-week/
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Post by LIONS90045 on Jan 3, 2016 19:33:38 GMT -5
Impressive! Looks like a high major type.
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Post by lmu2015 on Jan 3, 2016 19:39:15 GMT -5
6'7" 280lbs... That's a big kid. We also offered Myles Franklin a while ago ( his favorite teammate) so good to see we are working on our class of 2017.
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Post by thx4leavinjimlynam on Jan 4, 2016 1:01:39 GMT -5
pumpfake, thank you for finding the Battey article. Transfers are now eligible, so it makes sense that he just started playing again. Maybe he, Gipson, and Franklin will all be together with the Lions in 2017-18.
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Post by kdub00 on Jan 4, 2016 2:55:50 GMT -5
Having reffed Battey several times during his Freshman and Sophomore years at LACES, he's always been one of the more talented players in City Ball...his combination of skill and size set him apart from other players, but he spent too much time on the perimeter rather than in the post. Hoping that his move to Villa Park will change the makeup to his game, b/c then he'll be able to maximize his talent..
Donald Gibson is probably closer to 6'2" than the listed 6'4", unless he's grown some from last year to this...
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Post by lmulionsroar on Jan 7, 2016 15:03:13 GMT -5
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Post by lmu2015 on Jan 7, 2016 20:53:50 GMT -5
He was recruited by a lot of major programs, and we could always use a big, sounds like this would be a great pick up.
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Post by LIONS90045 on Jan 7, 2016 23:56:00 GMT -5
Does he know Viney? Sounds like a good prospect if he does come - 4* recruit etc.
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Post by thx4leavinjimlynam on Jan 8, 2016 0:46:18 GMT -5
Wow, great find lmulionsroar! He was released two days ago, but if I'm not mistaken, he may be looking to "enroll" with a school prior to the second semester starting. I believe if he signs before second semester, then he would be eligible to play for that school at the end of the first semester in 11 months. In other words, if Manuel enrolls with LMU before January 11 (this upcoming Monday!!!), he would be eligible after finals around December 9, so he would only miss the first 7 or 8 games of next season, and be a freshman and have 3 1/2 seasons of eligibility with us. And we do have an open scholarship right now (only 12 active at the moment). academics.lmu.edu/registrar/academicresources/academiccalendars/spring2016/Someone much smarter than I should confirm my facts. Go Lions!
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Post by lmulionsroar on Jan 8, 2016 9:27:27 GMT -5
He has signed with LMU per reports on Twitter. Story on lmulionsroar coming shortly. stay tuned.
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