Henry Uwadiae '14 c 6-11

[shockar25]

Let me take a shot at naming the players at WSU who were 6'9" or taller and impressive in their first two years.

Ozell Jones
Robert Elmore
Terry Benton
Antoine Carr
Cliff Levingston

There are probably some more, but that's going back over 40 years. It also goes back to a time when recruiting was much different than it is now.

5 players in 40 years should be a clue that big guys take a little while to develop unless you get a really exceptional one.

The current staff is recruiting big guys who are a little raw. The chances of WSU recruiting and signing a 6'9"+ player who is not raw are about zero.

I'll take raw, but athletic, coordinated, and educable any day. Not every one will work out, but Kurt Bangles, Ryan Bradley, Zach Green, etc. were not raw players when they came to WSU.

Most WSU fans wished WSU would have had someone to start in front of Miller in his first two seasons.

Egelseder had one productive year. Other than that, he was a minute-eater.

Signing big guys is always a gamble. I think the gamble is a bit more in your favor if the big guy can run and jump.

Yep. One name to ponder: Paul Wight.

No, you can't teach height, but you also can't teach coordination either. Wight had none. I'm glad he found success in life but he was never ever destined to be good on the court. I don't think it would have mattered who was coaching him (although Cohen was bad).

[BOBB]

Another raw African project, not ready to contribute for at least 2-3 years. Just wondering how that's working out so far.

Starting to look like the Bart Westgeest, Mahnord Martina years all over again. 8)

Not every player can bring the skill set of Graham Hatch to the mix out of the gate. We have one African player that hasn't lived up to ridiculous expectations and you see a trend?

[Ta town]

Some folks are just beachers....

Please to be naming that super skilled ready for d1 basketball center the shox passed over to get Henry?

[pinstripers]

Next year we'll pick up another guy like Hall to help bridge the gap.

[Overtime]

If you can be skeptical and hopeful at the same time then that is what I am. EO,s stats in JUCO were not impressive at all and that should have told us he was not ready to make an impact.......I have not heard any info on this young man's stats...that should tell us something. As to this year's recruits and next years so far.... maybe good but no home runs, so I can only hope for a sleeper or two.

[wushock]

Just curious. What has Marshall's recruiting so far since he has been here that hasn't pleased you. Last year was the most wins in school history. Is he not doing something right with his recruiting. Have faith in the coach that he knows what he is doing. Why does the NBA draft guys with height that only average one point or 5 points in the last draft.

[shockmonster]

Overtime You need to define homerun. 4 star? 5 star? Top 100? Define sleeper too.

[SB Shock]

The way I see this is a high risk, high reward guy. Evidently the coaching staff saw something that said it was worth taking a risk on. Sometimes you have to throw a bomb pass even though it may not have a high probability of being completed because when it is completr it is "huge".

[jocoshock]

Another raw African project, not ready to contribute for at least 2-3 years. Just wondering how that's working out so far.

Starting to look like the Bart Westgeest, Mahnord Martina years all over again. 8)

Or it could turn out to be like Zarko Djurisic and Sasha Radunovich... :good: :good: :good:

[RoyalShock]

Some things to keep in mind about Mr. Uwadiae and his stats:

- He has only been playing basketball since age 14, so he's still on the steep part of the learning curve.

- Last year's team had two prolific scoring guards. From what I've read, they rarely looked to get the ball into the post. And from the YouTube vid I watched, I believe it.

- For part of last year he was playing behind the 7-foot Indiana recruit. His minutes didn't come until that kid got a stress-fracture in his leg. I saw a few box scores that showed Uwadiae scoring 6-7 pts a game while filling in for the injured kid.

- Multiple accounts say he can control the boards, which tells me he is naturally aggressive. That is also difficult to teach.


More than one internet source has him on the roster for Word of God Academy this upcoming year. They are also a top prep school with loads of talent. I'm not sure how accurate that is since it was his United Faith coach who confirmed Henry's commitment to Suellentrop. If he is transferring it makes some since because if he stays at UFCA he will still be playing behind the Indiana kid.

As someone else mentioned, coming to Wichita after having three seasons of playing "American" basketball will be a plus. EO only had one year of practice and one year of play. Not only that, I think it can be argued that HU has, is and will be playing with and against more talented post players in prep school than EO did at juco, which has become guard-heavy with mostly undersized posts.

I will be very pleased if he ends up being a taller Odiakosa. Dinma was a force to be reckoned with his junior year and a beast as a senior.

[wufan]

Also, don't forget that only 9 or so guys get PT each year. In any given year, one would want five veteran starters and four contributors that have the potential to start someday. That leaves 4 scholarship players that aren't getting any minutes...one red-shirt, one guts and gule guy, and ONE PROJECT. The last one is...well Jerome Hamilton or Kenny Mannigault.

Hopefully Henry will red-shirt, be a project as a freshman, and a contributor as a sophomore.

EO is a year behind that...as a sophomore he was a project and as a junior he'll be a contribuor. Senior year, who know?

[shock]

I'll take a shot at home runs and sleepers.

Home run- Perry Ellis

Sleeper- Jake White

[wufan]

I'll take a shot at home runs and sleepers.

Home run- Perry Ellis

Sleeper- Jake White

Yes, Parade All-American, Jake White, is a sleeper.

[Overtime]

agree with shock...homerun would be Perry Ellis...the type of player that schools like KU, Duke etc are offering...Sleeper is Jake white and most of our recruits...perhaps excellent players but not sought after by the BCS big guys.....Some home runs don't turn out well...such as MO Evans and some sleepers turn out to be great players...such as Jamar Howard , Jason Perez , Paul Miller. I am not trying to disparage the recruiting, just saying we have not landed that knock your socks off stunning sign-up in a long long time. I don't blame the coach...it must be agonizingly difficult. e

[SubGod22]

Not sure Howard belongs in that group. The only reason he wasn't getting more offers was because of concerns about his academics.