Henry Uwadiae '14 c 6-11

[WuDrWu]

It would just be nice to run across a big man that wasn't so much of a project, and could produce by the time he was a sophmore, like Cole Aldrich did.

Yes, it would be nice to find an All American center and future NBAer. :roll:

Especially one in the solid 6'10" to 7'1" range. Our coaches should look a little harder for them.


Henry has some skill. I believe his skill level to be beyond EO's at this point, basketball wise. He has a little better understanding of the game and does not seem to have to "think through" what's going on as much as EO.

He is not as athletic as EO, but then few are. If he picks up the game, he'll be as good as any big man in the conference. He could be a bust. He could be dominant.

The thing is Seth VanDeest has very little upside. He's a good player, lots of skill, very smart, but he's never going to dominate and be a game changer, especially against NCAA tournament types of players. I am not picking on SVD. I am using him as an example of Valley big men. We are not recruiting against the Valley. This staff has higher goals, and as such, there are going to be a miss or 2 now and then. That's the way things go. We are shooting for the stars. Others can't or won't.

[60Shock]

Recruiting is generally always a crap shoot anyway, both in college and in the pros. Just look at the pros who throw millions of dollars in bonuses to kids who were outstanding at the college levell and who bomb out after being drafted.

Youse pay your money and takes your chances.

Our coaches naturally have the same problem. All we can hope for is that the majority of our recruits can play at the Div 1 level and that a few, and hopefully more, really excel.

[jocoshock]

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.

Technically, Terry and Cliff don't belong on the list since they were 6'8" (or at least that's what they were listed at).

I don't know for sure how good Gene Wiley was during his first two years but he is tied with Warren (Armstrong) Jabali for the most triple-doubles in school history.

Gene Wiley hadn't played much basketball before his senior year at East High. He was a foul machine his first year. Ralph Miller made him keep his hands above his head when rebounding Free Throws. He surely learned and turned into a very very good center.

Levingston was actually 6'8". Sasha Radunovich was 6'9" and he was pretty darn impressive his first year. Nate Bowman at 6'10" might have made that list, but I don't know. I was too young at the time to know.

[Aargh]

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.

Technically, Terry and Cliff don't belong on the list since they were 6'8" (or at least that's what they were listed at).

I don't know for sure how good Gene Wiley was during his first two years but he is tied with Warren (Armstrong) Jabali for the most triple-doubles in school history.

Gene Wiley hadn't played much basketball before his senior year at East High. He was a foul machine his first year. Ralph Miller made him keep his hands above his head when rebounding Free Throws. He surely learned and turned into a very very good center.

Levingston was actually 6'8". Sasha Radunovich was 6'9" and he was pretty darn impressive his first year. Nate Bowman at 6'10" might have made that list, but I don't know. I was too young at the time to know.

Radunovich and Bowman have to be added to the list. I'm going to leave Levingston nd Benton even though they were an inch short of the specs.

That's still a mighty short list for 50 or so years of recruiting. All of the guys we've listed are pre ESPN and pre AAU summer ball (for the most part).

Recruiting post players is like recruiting pitchers. You have to go for the best guy you can get. In baseball, it's the pros that are the competition. In basketball it's 60 or so teams in the BCS conferences. It's television time. It's playing for a "name brand" school. It's playing for a consistent NCAA berth and a shot at a F4 or NC.

Any fan who expects a Cole Aldrich every couple of years may as well switch to being a KU fan. Aldrich wasn't eye-popping dominating or spectacular. He was mostly "serviceable". That level of player at that height isn't a realistic expectation at WSU.

Butler might be able to get in the hunt for that type of player. Once WSU makes the F4 a couple of times without that type of player, then WSU can spend recruiting resources on that type of player with at least some expectation of a chance of success.

[shock]

Old Man Egelseder was able to control the post against Cole Aldrich, iirc.

[ShockRef]

My original intent was not to ignite a semi-"any news on Orupke" thread. The point being a combo of missing out on DeWitt and signing an obvious project instead.

Henry may indeed end up becoming a decent or even an impact player.
The usual scenario with inexperienced African imports is they take quite a bit of time to learn the game and adjust to life here.

My point was more lamenting about missing out on a DEFINITE impact player in DeWitt.

There is no time like the present and pairing DeWitt with Hall and Stutz with all of the Sr. backcourt players was a recipe for a very, very special season.

As you can probably tell, SR was already making mucho Dance Party reservations. 8)

[Wuzee]

Henry is playing for the Charlotte Royals AAU team.

The Royals play in the The NIKE Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL), which has box scores on its website, http://www.nikeeliteyouthbasketballleague.com/

He's been coming off the bench mostly, and playing around 8 minutes per game.

His best game was an 8 point, 4 rebound effort in 16 minutes against BABC, one of the top AAU squads. That was a blowout loss, however.

[ShockTalk]

From just looking at the box scores, it's not very encouraging. Henry started most games for a comparitively weak team, but was almost always in foul trouble.....early. On the bright side, seemed to get a high number of rebounds for the minutes played.

[RoyalShock]

Another observation from the box scores. Look at the assist numbers. They are embarassingly small. I think I've yet to see a player with more than 3 assists in one game. Several games had teams with fewer than 5 total team assists.

That tells me these teams are playing sloppy, guard-oriented basketball and entry passes are an after-thought. It's going to be difficult to judge a post player by the box score.

[_kai_]

From just looking at the box scores, it's not very encouraging. Henry started most games for a comparitively weak team, but was almost always in foul trouble.....early. On the bright side, seemed to get a high number of rebounds for the minutes played.

If his team is getting blown out, he's making desperation fouls most likely. They are probably penetrating the guards easily, and getting Henry out of position, where he fouls in the lane on drives. That would be my guess.

[ShockTalk]

Royal and kai - So true that a box score, or even a number of them, doesn't draw solid conclusions about a player. He's also young, has a lot of ceiling, and, most important, seems to be a hard worker.

That said, I'll add: This team does appear to be guard-oriented, but with his limited minutes, it's also hard to say anything about his offense. I did notice one (yes, only one) game where he did shoot 5 shots, but only made 1. I also don't believe his fouls are coming due to his team getting blown out. He starts and finds the pine early, even in close games. However, a lot could be because of poor defense and lack of help from teammates.

It would appear a red-shirt is in his future.

[Dan]

he's obviously is a project. If he were already dominant, it wouldn't matter if his teams were guard oriented. He'd find ways to get the ball and score points. With EO already here, I;m not all that excited about another project.

[SubGod22]

he's obviously is a project. If he were already dominant, it wouldn't matter if his teams were guard oriented. He'd find ways to get the ball and score points. With EO already here, I;m not all that excited about another project.

They'll never play together. Henry will very likely redshirt when Ehimen is a SR. I don't think that's too bad a deal. If they were closer together than I may have some concerns.

[ShockTalk]

he's obviously is a project. If he were already dominant, it wouldn't matter if his teams were guard oriented. He'd find ways to get the ball and score points. With EO already here, I;m not all that excited about another project.

They'll never play together. Henry will very likely redshirt when Ehimen is a SR. I don't think that's too bad a deal. If they were closer together than I may have some concerns.

That's why a transfer or Juco 5 may be in our future.

[WSUwatcher]

12-13

Talk, I'd expect the WSU centers in 2012-13 to be Hall and Orukpe, with PF belonging to Jake White and other recruits, or possibly Egharevba for some minutes. It would be a shock if Uwadiae were not redshirted.

Assuming the commitments hold up and no one leaves unexpectedly or prematurely, I believe you're exactly right -- unless, of course, they hit the jackpot with their remaining recruiting this year: say, two from the group of Darnell Harris, Ellis, Thurman, and Buddy Hield -- that the Shocks are likely to bring in a juco or experienced transfer, probably at a post position. Right now the junior class on WSU's 2012-13 roster is scheduled to be empty, and with only four seniors in the group, a little added experience might be useful.