[Purple Haize]

It's pointless because Liberty is no longer recruiting Lipscomb.

BSK tends to engage in pointless ramblings, so.....

[olldflame]

Bumping this thread now that the season is over.

We currently have one scholarship available, but I expect that to change. IMHO it is a dead lock lead pipe cinch that we will sign 2 more recruits this Spring. I think logic and Layer's track record point to both of them coming from the JUCO ranks. Greatest needs to address appear to be a big and a 2 guard who can create his own shot.

Heading the list:

Osandai Vaughn
6'3" SG out of Cape Fear CC coached by former Flame player Ryan Mantlo.

With the history we have with Mantlo and his program, I'm thinking we can at the very least pencil this one into the scholarship grid. He will have 3 years of eligibility. His numbers as a Frosh at CFCC are better than Trap Speaks were.
http://www.libertyflamesnation.com/2014 ... ai-vaughn/

J.J. N'Ganga
6'10" C/F from Northern OK CC
His weight is listed as anywhere from 230 to 260.
Not a lot of info on this kid other than he is big, and apparently a good student.
http://www.libertyflamesnation.com/2014 ... -j-nganga/

[olldflame]

For what it's worth, verbalcommitts.com shows us as still having open offers to 4 HS players. 2 of them are HS teammates from Midland PA; Ryan Skovranko, a 6'7" SG and Elijah Minnie, a 6'9" PF. Both have numerous offers from higher profile programs. Then there is Shawn Lipscomb, the high scoring little combo guard from Durham, NC who has been discussed here, and finally Aleer Leek, another 6'9" PF from the Sudan via IMG Academy in Florida. Manson has reported we are no longer pursuing Lipscomb, which would make sense if we want to sign Vaughn.

[Purple Haize]

For what it's worth, verbalcommitts.com shows us as still having open offers to 4 HS players. 2 of them are HS teammates from Midland PA; Ryan Skovranko, a 6'7" SG and Elijah Minnie, a 6'9" PF. Both have numerous offers from higher profile programs. Then there is Shawn Lipscomb, the high scoring little combo guard from Durham, NC who has been discussed here, and finally Aleer Leek, another 6'9" PF from the Sudan via IMG Academy in Florida. Manson has reported we are no longer pursuing Lipscomb, which would make sense if we want to sign Vaughn.

Do you think hell still come after we sued his parents?

[BJWilliams]

Bumping this thread now that the season is over.

We currently have one scholarship available, but I expect that to change. IMHO it is a dead lock lead pipe cinch that we will sign 2 more recruits this Spring. I think logic and Layer's track record point to both of them coming from the JUCO ranks. Greatest needs to address appear to be a big and a 2 guard who can create his own shot.

Heading the list:

Osandai Vaughn
6'3" SG out of Cape Fear CC coached by former Flame player Ryan Mantlo.

With the history we have with Mantlo and his program, I'm thinking we can at the very least pencil this one into the scholarship grid. He will have 3 years of eligibility. His numbers as a Frosh at CFCC are better than Trap Speaks were.
http://www.libertyflamesnation.com/2014 ... ai-vaughn/

J.J. N'Ganga
6'10" C/F from Northern OK CC
His weight is listed as anywhere from 230 to 260.
Not a lot of info on this kid other than he is big, and apparently a good student.
http://www.libertyflamesnation.com/2014 ... -j-nganga/

N'Ganga would fill a definite need and that is for a big physical body in the post which we don't have among our projected roster. Vaughn gives us the potential for an outside threat who can stretch zone defenses and potentially that 15 point per night guy that ballcoach has been harping for

[ballcoach15]

The more I see of BSC tournament, the more I see the need for scorers at LU. We need athletic kids who can put ball in basket. As I have stated before we have too many role players and not enough scorers who can carry the team. I see where UNC-A had one guy score 29 and another 25 yesterday. If LU had scorers like that, we'd be in semi finals.

[BJWilliams]

You can't guarantee that ballcoach...hindsight may be 20/20 but it isnt always based in reality

[olldflame]

One more factoid on N'Ganga is that from looking at his tweets, he should have no problem fitting in at LU. At least half of them are scripture references.

[jcmanson]

An update on the 2014 verbal commits - http://www.libertyflamesnation.com/2014 ... ss-update/

[flamehunter]

An update on the 2014 verbal commits - http://www.libertyflamesnation.com/2014 ... ss-update/

Haven't they all signed LOI's?

[jcmanson]

Yes, thanks

[olldflame]

An update on the 2014 verbal commits - http://www.libertyflamesnation.com/2014 ... ss-update/

At a glance the thing that sticks out most to me is the really poor shooting by AC Reid. 37% overall and 30% from 3 for a 6'6" wing player against HS competition is not stellar to say the least. Compare that with Talbert, who had a similar scoring average but was MUCH more efficient.

[flamehunter]

I saw that too. But it could be a case of a HS star player who feels he has to do everything and doesn't play within himself.

[olldflame]

I saw that too. But it could be a case of a HS star player who feels he has to do everything and doesn't play within himself.

That's a possible explanation. His team was mediocre. It may be there wasn't anyone else who posed much of a threat and defenses keyed on him.

[olldflame]

With Braxton Bonds and CPA knocked out in the TN state semis, do we still have any of our signees playing in tournaments? Evan Maxwell and Ezra Talbert's teams were still alive last I saw.

[Purple Haize]

Any coming off back to back 20 loss seasons?

[BJWilliams]

With Braxton Bonds and CPA knocked out in the TN state semis, do we still have any of our signees playing in tournaments? Evan Maxwell and Ezra Talbert's teams were still alive last I saw.

Abington Heights lost to Archbishop Carroll in the second round 59-55

Olathe East lost to Maize HS in the Kansas State quarterfinals 44-43

[ballcoach15]

I wonder if the LU coaching staff was in Richmond Saturday for the VHSL basketball tournament. There were several players playing who could help LU down the road.

[Purple Haize]

I wonder if the LU coaching staff was in Richmond Saturday for the VHSL basketball tournament. There were several players playing who could help LU down the road.

This time of year used to be a quiet period until after the National Championship game

[Sly Fox]

I believe it still is.

[jcmanson]

It's open right now. Here's a breakdown of the recruiting calendar - http://www.recruitlook.com/index.php?do ... ncaaRules/

[olldflame]

With Ogukwe and Donley transferring, that now gives us 3 scholarships to use this Spring. I really think Vaughn is going to get one of them.

My dream signings for the other 2 would be Minnie and Skovranko, the 2 state championship teammates from Pittsburgh. They both have a lot of offers, some impressive, like Skovranko's from UCLA. What I find interesting is that no less than 6 teams have offered both of them. IMHO that indicates that they have expressed a desire to play together at the next level. If you look at that list, it includes local schools Duquesne and Robert Morris, instate school Temple, and then Elon, Virginia Tech and LU. So if we are actually still in the mix, that means Layer could be recruiting head to head with Buzz. On the other hand, the offer from VT came from the previous coach, so Williams may not be interested at all.

[Chippy]

A lot of talent/D1 players are coming from Pgh. over the last few years. John Calipari (Kentucky), Sean Miller (Arizona) and Archie Miller (Dayton) all Pgh boys in the Sweet 16.

[olldflame]

By the way, if you are wondering if we were to end up signing 8 players this year would it be a record for our MBB program? Maybe.........kinda, but not really. In the Fall of 99, Hanky signed 7 HS players. That class was actually rated #25 in the nation, mainly because it included Chip Richmond and Antonio Burks, who were non-qualifiers and never made it to the burg. However, he wasn't done by a long shot. That Spring he also signed 4 JUCO players, making the total for the 2 signing periods 11, of which 9 made it to campus but only 8 ever played. If we sign 3 this Spring and all 8 make it to the court, that would match an all time high, but I doubt we will ever see 11 signed NLIs in one year again.

[flameshaw]

Quality over quantity every time. Hope some of these can end up being good D1 players.