Recruiting 2008 -and beyond

[smc4]

lmutex I'm with you about OJ being a top freshman in the WCC, even though the coaches disagreed, I think he was snubbed in the All-freshmen list. He had to carry a lot of water for us. I still am not going to worry until I see an actual report and not just rumors. Any of this being covered by the recruiting sites? I'd like to see him grow his game in a lions uniform.

[lionspride]

Apr 23, 2008 14:11:16 GMT -5 @newlionfan said:

OJ and Wendell are gone. 6'8 or 6'9 European possibly in.

Sources?

If O.J. has left (which I would say is probably true because Dead3man would not be running his mouth on this board in the last couple days if it wasn't. Dead3man only comes to the board and posts when things are in his favor), we can replace him and reload. Sure, O.J. was clearly the best player last year and has the best potential. However, he do not single-handly take over the games. That was one thing that he was lacking. No doubt he will get that knack within a couple of years. I WANT O.J. to stay, but if rumors are true....let him go peacefully. It will be better for both parties. No one wants a player that does not want to be at a school or play for a coach. No player is bigger than the coach. Right now, Bill Bayno is trying to orchestrate a plan for next year and years to come. I place my confidence in the man at the helm.

All I know is if players like O.J. are leaving because of inter-strife caused from other players, we need check into that. Bill Bayno will know how to deal with a player and his parents that cause strife to the program.

[LMUpepbander]

Perhaps OJ is the rumored player leaving for a bigger conference...?

[fanblade]

Hmm, If one of our players has a chance to bump up it would be OJ but I cannot find anyone who can confirm this rumor so I'll be cautious. It would be unfortunate to see him go if that were the case.

[styles]

Fact is:

No, the players that many of us are naming are from the HS class of 2008 so they would not be sitting out. I am assuming that Bayno will keep some of his scholies for the Class of 2009 when he can really do some damage and get some verbal commitments this spring and summer. As a result I would guess that he'll offer partials (50% scholie?) to some of the under-the-radar types to preserve some wiggle room. Also, maybe get the academic side of the operation to offer up some grant money for qualifiers and cover what the athletic dept cannot offer up.

Regarding the McDonald's Nominees, here are the California nominees. I would offer this note: Pepperdine signed three kids off this list in the past thirty days - Keion Bell, Lorne Jackson, and Corbin Moore, plus prep school graduate Suttle. Anything is possible, but we have to move soon.


2008 BOYS NOMINEES

Jerime Anderson (UCLA commit)
Canyon High School, Anaheim

Brendan Beaghler
Villanova Preparatory School, Ojai

Keion Bell (Pepperdine Commit)
Pasadena High School, Pasadena

Michael Bostic
Colony High School, Ontario

Kevin Bradshaw
Upland High School, Upland

Tyreese Breshers
Price High School, Los Angeles

Tre Brewer (Prep School Commit)
Etiwanda High School, Etiwanda

Kyle Caldwell
Newport Harbor High School,
Newport Beach

Bryce Cartwright
Dominguez High School, Compton

Takeshi Clifford
Ocean View High School, Huntington Beach

Justin Cook
Renaissance Academy, La Cañada

Bear Custer
Cathedral City High School, Cathedral City

Demar Derozan (USC Commit)
Compton High School, Compton

B.J. Doucett
Granite Hills High School, Apple Valley

Larry Drew (No. Carolina Commit)
William Howard Taft High School,
Woodland Hills

Joe Eberhard
Corona del Mar High School, Newport Beach

Krys Faber (DePaul Commit)
Ribet Academy College Preparatory School,
Los Angeles

Dwayne Fells
Fullerton High School, Fullerton

Chris Gabriel
J. Serra Catholic High School,
San Juan Capistrano

Edgar Garibay
Compton High School, Compton

Anthony Gilchrist
Cathedral City High School, Cathedral City

Alberto Gonzalez
Jurupa Valley High School, Mira Loma

Aaron Hawk-Harris (Possible Prep School Commit)
Palisades Charter High School,
Pacific Palisades

Jrue Holiday (UCLA Commit)
Campbell Hall Episcopal, North Hollywood

Brandon Ishimoto
Ocean View High School, Huntington Beach

Lorne Jackson (Pepperdine Commit)
Simi Valley High School, Simi Valley

Marcus Johnson
Joel John Scholastic Academy, Los Angeles

Matt Johnson (Columbia Commit)
Oaks Christian School, Westlake Village

Leland Jones
Bishop Montgomery High School, Torrance

Stefan Kaluz
Corona del Mar High School, Newport Beach

Malcolm Lee (UCLA Commit)
John W. North High School, Riverside

Jamie McGee
Sage Hill School, Newport Beach

Peter McMillian (Prep School Commit)
Brentwood High School, Los Angeles

Erick Montes
Jurupa Valley High School, Mira Loma

Mike Montgomery (MLB Draft Pitching Prospect - Not playing basketball after high school)
Hart High School, Newhall

Corbin Moore (Pepperdine Commit)
Los Alamitos High School, Los Alamitos

David Murillo
Century High School, Santa Ana

Cameron Nettles
Gahr High School, Cerritos

Charles Odum
Mayfair High School, Lakewood

Eugene Phelps (Prep School Commit?)
William Howard Taft High School,
Woodland Hills

Devin Price
St. Bernard High School, Playa Del Rey

Terance Reaves
Long Beach Polytechnic High School,
Long Beach

Danny Redmon
Upland High School, Upland

Joseph Richard
Arroyo Valley High School, San Bernardino

Jeff Rochon
Valley Christian High School, Cerritos

Dallas Rutherford
Campbell Hall School, North Hollywood

Jaime Serna (UCSB Commit)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School,
Rancho Santa Margarita

Bryce Smith (CS Northridge Commit?)
William Howard Taft High School,
Woodland Hills

Chris Solomon
Fairfax High School, Los Angeles

Eric Strangis
Crescenta Valley High School, La Crescenta

A.J. Talt
Polytechnic School, Pasadena

Josh Thomas
Renaissance Academy, La Cañada

Klay Thompson
Santa Margarita Catholic High School,
Rancho Santa Margarita

Jamaal Trice (****Uncle played for LMU during Gathers/Kimble years***)
Mater Dei High School, Santa Ana

Julius von Hanzlik
Beverly Hills High School, Beverly Hills

Aaron Ware
Bishop Montgomery High School, Torrance

Casper Ware
Gahr High School, Cerritos

Jelany White
Crenshaw High School, Los Angeles

Renaldo Woolridge (Tennessee Commit)
Harvard-Westlake High School,
North Hollwood

Wendell Wright, Jr. (LMU Commit)
Mayfair High School, Lakewood

Kevin Young, Jr.
Perris High School, Perris

Yaser Yousef
Bolsa Grande High School, Garden Grove

Zack Zaragoza (Northern AZ Commit)
Santa Margarita Catholic High School,
Rancho Santa Margarita

[ironlions]

Styles...who on this list do you think we should go after? Other than commited players, no really stands out.

[styles]

(...Looooong again. Sorry!)

Agreed that no single player stands out. But, many of these guys are solid. Many are also playing in the spring events this next weekend (Las Vegas anyone?) taking one last look at offers.

Only Bayno and Levy know the truth behind who is going from the current roster and who is staying. Since it is so late to recruit, you want to put as much focus into the big-time, three-star plus athletes of the 2009 and 2010 classes. On an earlier thread, I suggested that LMU go after Anthony Stover of the Class of 2009, a talented local big man that can run the floor and let him anchor the future.

Somebody suggested Edgar Gariby from the Class of 2008 and he would be a good pick-up, esp with Bayno's rep for developing players. If you can get him and he qualifies academically, it would be a great pick-up.

IMHO, I'd pick-up younger back court players and JC front court players. LMU needs an interior presence and the JC route gets you physically more mature players. Question is whether they can run the court like Bayno needs. If you get Gariby, then this JC connection could be a true banger PF.

I fear if you lean too much on the JC route for most of the spots, you start to resemble Fullerton, Irvine and Riverside. Character issues. Harmony issues. There is no long term growth like Gonzaga has seen. Let's no go down that road, please. That's why I suggest just one or two JC's only, and all in the post.

I'd then go after a true PG and two "tweeners" from the Class of 2008. You can never have enough PG's and this might develop into the future QB. Think of Derek Fisher -- smart, fast, team oriented, a leader.

By "tweeners" I mean two long combo guards that can play the SG or SF spots, and maybe one of these guys can actually run the point or take the load off the PG during press situations. With the roster in so much flux, you need versitility to be able to mix and match.

This next year is really a band aid year. Plug holes, learn a new offensive system, and build enough excitement to recruit a big and a scorer in the Class of 2009.

[ironlions]

I agree with your points Styles....espeically on Stover. It would be huge to land him. However, we are going to have to recruit against some big time Pac 10 programs. Another ingredient to throw in the pot is international players. There were some rumors of Bayno in Europe scouting a big man. Its late in the game but maybe we could find a hidden gem. I believe the Zags go Turiaf late in the recruiting season too.

[newlionfan]

Bayno is in the Bay Area tomorrow. I would ask him personally, but he's here to visit Kwame.

[lambdachi1988lion]

I'm pretty sure I just saw Coach Bayno outside in the Gersten in his nice Land Rover wearing a backwards hat and boardshorts haha. Definatley seems like a players coach. He is gonna be able to bring in players with skills like we haven't seen here before.

[styles]

Or, maybe Bayno is in Washington DC...

community.foxsports.com/blogs/goodmanonfox/2008/04/23/VERNON_MACKLIN_TRANSFERRING_FROM_GTOWN

(Okay... Take the European big who hopefully can shoot like Dirk. Recruit Gariby from 2008. Land Macklin as a transfer. Let's now focus on the back court and build around Davis! )

[dedicatedlionfan]

no way!!! I think some of us here are thinking way too much about these big time players. there going to go to other big time schools, not LMU. (It would be noce though)

[golions]

Apr 21, 2008 0:22:48 GMT -5 ldawg said:

Great find Frank. Welcome Larry!

I guess this is why he was in NY.

Solid!

[ironlions]

Looks like we have an offer out to Edgar.

Garibay is receiving some heavy recruiting interest. He said new Indiana coach Tom Crean has called and offered. USC, New Mexico State and Loyola Marymount have offered as well. UCLA has been talking to his high school coach as has Georgetown. Garibay would like to visit Indiana, Memphis and Georgetown before signing.

Those are some pretty high profile schools recruiting him.

[Deleted]

Ugh looks like everyone and their mother has given Garibay an offer. We could use a big guy like that. I know Bayno will start dropping those NBA connections of his.