If roundball is your blood, this is the place to discuss the Flames as they move into the Ritchie McKay era for the 2nd time.

Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke

By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#509518
Way overdue to start this thread, but I can steal an excuse from someone and say I haven't had access to a real computer for quite a while and couldn't cut and paste links on the Android tablet I was using.
We have offered 5 players for the class of 17 and 4 of them have already verbally committed:
http://verbalcommits.com/schools/liberty

Barber of course, is the son of our AD and will not need a scholarship because he will receive free tuition as the child of a university employee. He is primarily a 3 point shooter, who had some big games as a Soph., hitting 9 3s on 2 separate occasions, but it looks like opponents have been focusing on contesting his perimeter shot this year. Hopefully he will expand his game and make them pay for that next year.

Cuffee is a strong, athletic swing player who can shoot, defend and rebound. He is most often praised by evaluators as having a "high-major motor" His Poca HS team won 60 straight games against in-state opponents before losing in the state semis this year. Cuffee had 6 D1 offers before committing very early to the Flames last Fall, including a Big 12 offer from Texas Tech. He almost certainly would have had more had he not made such a strong commit so early. WVU among other High Major programs, was very interested. Parents are both Liberty alum and he is very much on board with the school mission. He plays on the same AAU team as recruit Jarrod West, and they are currently the top ranked team on the Big Shots circuit. He was named outstanding player at a recent showcase in Raleigh with coach McKay in attendance.

McDowell comes from a family of outstanding athletes, including his brother Quinn, who scored over 1600 points for W&M and is now playing pro ball in Europe. Sister is a current LU student. His numbers at Moeller HS don't jump off the page, but they had a deep and talented team. He was recruited personally by RMK. Excellent shooter who can handle it well enough to play SG but can also rebound and defend the SF position.

Newton has been on our radar since he was a 14 year old Freshman and already 6'11". His mom and uncle are both Liberty alums. He was offered a scholarship by DL following that Freshman year. His only other actual offers came from App State and Longwood, but he had significant interest from HM programs including UVA and VT and is the highest rated player in this class with 4 stars from ESPN and 3 each from Scout and Rivals. Brendan's HS team Faith Christian plays in a conference where competition is weak, but they entered some tourneys this year where they played stronger opponents. FCA went 32-1 and won both state and national championships in their division. Brendan played AAU for Team Loaded the last 2 years and against better competition he was consistently a game changer on the defensive end. This year he will play for Boo Williams. He is a work in progress on offense, but has some good fundamentals, including the fact that he has learned to keep the ball high and pass out of double teams.

West is coached by his dad, who played for WVU, at Notre Dame HS. He can score if necessary, as evidenced by his 23ppg as a HS Jr, but has built his AAU reputation as a facilitator and defender. He has been voted best on-ball defender in multiple AAU events. He is the AAU teammate of LU commit Elijah Cuffee and their BigShotsElite team is the top rated squad on that circuit, having decisively beaten teams with higher profile prospects. One evaluator said of West that "sooner or later he is going to go head to head with one of these guys with high major offers and some stars will be re-distributed." West has offers from Longwood, Winthrop, JMU, Marshall and ECU as well as Liberty. I honestly don't think we have to worry about any of them, but WVU has shown interest, and it could be tough to turn down a chance to play for dad's alma matre in the Big 12. Jarrod is an outspoken Christian who would fit right in at LU.

Newton may be almost as tall as a giraffe, but the elephant in the room for this recruiting class is the scholarship situation. We will have 12 scholarship players on next years team, but no Seniors, so that would leave only one schollie for 2017, and if we can land West, we will need 4. We can pick up one if a proposed NCAA rule change goes through which would enable us to not count Scottie James against our limit. His mother is a professor at LU and he can get free tuition, but because he was on an athletic scholarship at Bradley, under the current rule any type of scholarship would cause him to be a "counter". If the change goes through, that would give us 2. Where would the other 2 come from? the likeliest scenario for 1 would involve Ryan Kemrite, who redshirted as a FR and will graduate next year. He could return for his final year as a grad student, or he could pursue other opportunities, which might include a graduate assistant job with the team. A lot may depend on how he plays next year. It's hard to imagine our most experienced player could become "expendible", but it looks like that is just how much talent is being upgraded.

While the only thing that matters is how they play when they arrive on campus, the way Ritchie and his staff has gone about putting this class together is extraordinary. They only made offers to 5 players. By way of comparison, Winthrop and High Point have each offered 23. It is only May and 4 of those 5 have committed with the other likely leaning to LU while waiting on possible high major offers.

BSC commitments for 2017:

Liberty....................................................................4

10 other BSC teams combined ....................................0

Not bad
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By Sly Fox
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#509521
I suspect that this is the pool in which we'll stay unless we somehow lost one of our commits. Best looking class since the one with Jesse & some guy with a famous dad & brother. Ritchie continues to show he is able to close the deal with kids with whom we should be closing the deal.

I haven't seen much video of Cuffee but the buzz around him online has been consistently strong in the AAU circuits since he committed to us.
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#509588
Sly Fox wrote:I suspect that this is the pool in which we'll stay unless we somehow lost one of our commits. Best looking class since the one with Jesse & some guy with a famous dad & brother. Ritchie continues to show he is able to close the deal with kids with whom we should be closing the deal.

I haven't seen much video of Cuffee but the buzz around him online has been consistently strong in the AAU circuits since he committed to us.
Yes, I'm also pretty sure we are done looking for additional players for the class of 2017. The focus now will be on landing West, following up on the 4 who have committed and moving forward to scout and recruit prospects for 18 and 19. We have made one offer for 2018, to 6'1" PG Isaiah Payton, who is Keegan McDowell's teammate at Moeller HS.

Personally, I see more similarities between the class we have recruited for 2016 and the 2008 class. Depending on how some of the players develop, this 2017 class could be on an entirely different level.
By FlameFan11
Posts
#509734
That post was a thing of beauty oldflame. Very nice!

It really is interesting to see such a difference in 2017 recruiting in the Big South. O commitments from 9 schools to 4 for us. It seems unique but really that is how it should be given the history these recruits have with Liberty and what the school has to offer in comparison to other BSC universities. The key will be getting the verbals to stick until November.

From the recruits I have followed over the years, typically if they get a Big South offer early on they continue to wait hoping for a bigger school to come knocking. Coach McKay gets the attention of players right away from being recently in the ACC at the highest level with massive success and then when that player visits campus to see the quality of the facilities, it gives the feeling of a much bigger opportunity. Especially for guys who visit other mid-major programs that can't compare with the facilities and perks student-athletes at Liberty receive, Nike sponsorship, cost of attendance, etc..... Coach McKay/Soucie have a long history of developing players who succeed at the next level. All of that gets a kid thinking, is there really something better out there? They feel they aren't sacrificing anything to go to a "smaller-level" school.

Kudos to the athletic dept and administration for creating the atmosphere. It is just nice to see us finally taking advantage of it with our men's basketball program. Very excited to get the 2016 and 2017 classes on the court together with this year's team!
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By Cider Jim
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#509738
West is coached by his dad, who played for WVU.
Any chance this is Jerry West's grandson? 8)
By olldflame
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#511475
Cuffee and West are both excellent offensive players and even BETTER defenders.



A couple of scouts have even suggested that West may be the best on-ball defender in the country.
By TDDance234
Registration Days Posts
#511917
Ritchie's never had any problems getting guards and wing-type players to Liberty but the lack of size is concerning. Newton won't be ready to contribute until 2018 at the earliest - which means we're banking on Baxter-Bell to be a significant contributor after sitting out a year of basketball.

Does this worry anyone else?
By FlameFan11
Posts
#512067
Josiah Talbert at 6-9 is pretty thick for a freshman. He and Myo will easily hold their own inside in the Big South. Throw in a nice body in transfer Scottie James plus Gardner on the wing and then add Newton in another year. I think we will have one of the bigger front lines in the conference.
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#514118
Looks like Jarrod West will be making his decision soon, in anticipation of signing in November Unless Huggie Bear or Buzz make a late offer, it is looking more and more like a choice between Liberty and Marshall

https://marshall.rivals.com/news/west-c ... decision-1

His primary recruiter for the Herd has been Mark Cline, who has been discussed as a HC candidate for Liberty in the past A commit from Jarrod would make us 5-5 with our 2017 offers Newton may be over a foot taller, but this little guy could actually be a bigger get for us
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By Purple Haize
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#514121
olldflame wrote:Looks like Jarrod West will be making his decision soon, in anticipation of signing in November Unless Huggie Bear or Buzz make a late offer, it is looking more and more like a choice between Liberty and A small step above Junior College

https://marshall.rivals.com/news/west-c ... decision-1

His primary recruiter for the Herd has been Mark Cline, who has been discussed as a HC candidate for Liberty in the past A commit from Jarrod would make us 5-5 with our 2017 offers Newton may be over a foot taller, but this little guy could actually be a bigger get for us

FIFY Play Basketball :P
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By Cider Jim
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#514122
:fight
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#516875
Well, the hoped-for 5 for 5 on scholarship offers for this class is not to be Jarrod West has committed to Marshall



Would have been a great get He is an ELITE on ball defender
I think Ritchie will still want to sign a PG, Don't be surprised if we make another offer soon
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By Purple Haize
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#516877
olldflame wrote:Well, the hoped-for 5 for 5 on scholarship offers for this class is not to be Jarrod West has committed to Marshall



Would have been a great get He is an ELITE on ball defender
I think Ritchie will still want to sign a PG, Don't be surprised if we make another offer soon
The kid wants to go to a JUCO for 4 years. No problem Play Basketball
By FlameFan11
Posts
#517051
Looks like Cuffee/West club teammate, 6'7 Darius George, has also committed to Marshall. Hopefully, Elijah won't want to join those guys for a club reunion. He just recently updated his twitter to show a picture header with Brendan, Brock Gardner, Scottie James so that should be a good sign. Those 4 guys are the future of Liberty basketball and it looks really nice.
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#517076
FlameFan11 wrote:Looks like Cuffee/West club teammate, 6'7 Darius George, has also committed to Marshall. Hopefully, Elijah won't want to join those guys for a club reunion. He just recently updated his twitter to show a picture header with Brendan, Brock Gardner, Scottie James so that should be a good sign. Those 4 guys are the future of Liberty basketball and it looks really nice.
Elijah is as solid as a verbal commit can be He will sign his NLI with Liberty on November 9th

That pic is further proof of what a huge human being Brendan Newton is With 2 other guys who are 6'7" in the same pic and plenty of sky showing above their heads, his entire forehead from the eyes up is out of frame He is at LEAST 7'3", and may be closer to 7'5"

Here's Cuffee's twitter with the banner pic at the top The other player is Jay Barber (who appears to be on crutches) and I think the blond kid is Brendan's little bro

https://twitter.com/kidd_cuffee17
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#518286
After a couple of weeks to think about it, I am revising my assessment and now believe we are probably done recruiting for 2017 West is a special PG who would have been an upgrade and worth the trouble of making room for his scholarship I'm thinking there probably isn't another one available who would be that much better than the 3 we have Of course all bets are off if we lose anyone to transfer or disciplinary issues

We are still going to be one over the limit, and I am still thinking that the most likely solution will be Kemrite not returning for his last year as a grad student
By FlameFan11
Posts
#518681
Very impressive. You hate to put high expectations on a player too soon but no doubt everyone feels we got a steal in Gardner. He's a freshman so it will take time but I think he is going to be special. Just watched these highlights again. Definitely excited to see him in a Flames jersey.

[youtube]uWhMYYdR5V4[/youtube]


BTW, if it doesn't work out for Shadd at K-state next year, we should have a scholarship available in 18-19 for a reunion.
By olldflame
Registration Days Posts
#521192
I have no reason to believe his commitment is anything but rock solid, and he visits the campus enough that you might think he is already enrolled, but I wish Brendan Newton would go ahead and sign his NLI already
By FlameFan11
Posts
#521193
Would love to see it as well but might be waiting on family or school situation. Hopefully soon.

On a side note, saw 7'0" Hayden KoVal, originally headed here in 2016 class, just committed to Central Arkansas. Strong Christian Head Coach in Russ Pennell which I'm sure played a factor. Good luck to Hayden and his family.
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